POWERPUFF
by TeddyBearTy
Summary: The city of Townsville is filled with crime and people are unsure what to do about it. Meanwhile in the suburbs, two scientists band together to create something that will help the town rid of crime for good. But at what cost will it have for the people affected? Especially if those individuals are children? RATED T FOR VIOLENCE IN FUTURE CHAPTERS!
1. The Creation of Chemical X

In the city of Townsville, crime loomed frequently on the streets.

Criminals would lurk in the corners during the day, trying to find prey that they would bring into the shadows to kill or rape. They would rob banks of everything they had and make a run for it. They would get caught but they would always either find a way out or someone they knew would bail them out, leaving the streets unsafe once more.

The Mayor along with other law abiding citizens would try and do something about it. They would set up higher rated security systems, add more officers to their staff, and even tried to ban criminals from the city entirely. Nothing worked, with their attempts being either unconstitutional or damaged beyond repair.

And as soon as that started to happen, citizens started to leave. They wanted no part in the city since it became unsafe to live in or to start a family. And the ones that didn't have the funds to go anywhere, were as cautious as possible. Leaving their kids in the house instead of taking them to school, being very quick when walking their pets outside, or not exiting their house at all. Most people of this caliber had jobs where they work from home but everyone else continued their days as normal albeit hesitantly.

As crime started to escalate, the Mayor started having cops outside of his office and his house whenever he's there. He would also have police monitoring Miss Bellum for her own safety. Everyone in Townsville were on high alert and afraid for their own and their families' lives. Danger stuck around every corner of the city and there wasn't much they could do about it.

However, there were people who still had hope. Individuals who still believed that they could do something for the town. Something that would hopefully turn things for the better. They worked around the clock, hoping that they were inches away from a solution to their dilemma. An answer that will bring the city a sense of relief.

They lived in a small white house in the suburban part of Townsville. It stood out among the others in the neighborhood due to its cement walls and the bright red door. Their work space was the very basement of the home and it looked nothing like a normal room with the name should be.

Tables lined the white walls, littered with different beakers, chemicals, and machines. Two men stood, hunching over their work and studying it through their safety goggles. One of them - a tall, thin man with short ebony hair - gently poured small drops of a pink liquid into a container of a green substance. He sloshed it around and watched it change from green to purple. After that, he added a bit of a yellow liquid into it and it changed to brown.

The other male - who was shorter and had longer black hair that was tied in a prickly ponytail - had been mixing different ingredients together at a more rapid rate. He didn't seem to mind of its changing appearance or the fact that it was bubbling up slightly as he worked. After a few minutes, he saw that the liquid had turned a very dark purple. He scratched his bearded chin in thought as his black eyes shifted to his partner's elixir.

"Do you mind if I use that Utonium?" he asked rather quickly, stretching his hand out.

The taller male - Professor Utonium - stopped what he was doing and glanced at the other person. He then stared at the beaker the mentioned individual was holding. His eyes then peered at his table littered with almost empty bottles and a couple of unidentified fluids.

He gave his partner a quizzically look but gave him the formula he had. "What are you even doing over there Jo?"

Jo didn't replied. He gently placed a few drops of the other liquid into his own concoction. He then watched as his creation started to froth up to the top of the beaker before the substance burst from the opening, splashing against the table. The two stepped back a little as the droplets flew onto the mentioned surface as well as the floor. However, nothing happened.

They sighed in relief, almost simultaneously. They both looked at the beaker in Jo's hands and noticed its black color. It looked as if all of the worlds' darkness had combined itself into one condensed liquid that resided in the very bottle the short man was holding. Utonium raised an eyebrow.

"I have never seen any chemical like that before..." he noted. "Especially of that color..." he turned to his partner. "What is it?"

A look of uncertainty crossed Jo's face as he eyed Utonium before staring at his concoction. This was something very new to the world. His partner knew his stuff so if even he has never seen anything of this caliber in his life, then it was something entirely foreign. He had created something that could be in the record books. Something that could be used for science in the present as well as the future. And it needed a name to commemorate its greatness.

"I don't know." Jo admitted, staring into the dark depths of the container. "But I'm sure we'll find out what it is in due time."

"We?" Utonium seemed shocked. "I thought you would want to take credit for your own chemical."

Jo turned to the taller man with a genuine grin. "No way...you were over there working just as much as I was. Our chemicals together formed this new creation. So I say, we did it as one."

"Whatever you say." he said with a small chuckle. He then sighed, his smile dissipating. "But I believe that this mess should be cleaned up by you since you did make it."

The smaller man chuckled softly, peering under the table and watching the black liquid trickle onto the blue tiled floor. He nodded, heading to the washroom that was in the lab to get some cloths.

Utonium meanwhile, took off his white lab coat and gloves and placed them behind his chair. He then headed up the stairs, staring at the clock that read 11 PM. "I'm going to order dinner. How does late night pizza sound?"

"Fine..." Jo mumbled, wiping up his mess from the table.

The tall man hummed in approval before heading out. Jo eyed him as he left before crouching on the floor to clean the liquid from there.

The only thing that rumbled through his mind was the brand new chemical he had created not too long ago. He was so eager to test things with it. To do studies with it. To see what it did. He wanted to get one of the lab rats from the back room and start injecting them with it. But the more important thing on the table was not what it did. But what its name was going to be.

He could have the greatest creation of all time on his hands. He could be known as the most successful scientist to have ever existed. He could get rewards, medals, money, media coverage, the works. Everything of his wildest dreams could come to past because of this creation but that couldn't happen until he had a name for it.

As he cleaned up, that was all he thought about.

He wanted to be something memorable. Something even the normal citizens of today could pronounce. Something easy on the eyes like the liquid that was in the bottle. Despite its dark appearance, it was rather simple to look at. It needed to be simple.

"Chemical..." he tapped his chin. "JU...?

It was the first letters of his and Utonium's names combined. He shook his head. That wouldn't work. It sounded kind of ridiculous in retrospect. Chemical JU, that wouldn't do.

"Chemical...Black?"

Childish. Naming things after a color was juvenile.

"Chemical J...?"

No.

"Chemical U?"

Nope.

"Chemical Z?"

What was this, an anime?

There had to be a good name for this elixir. Something that stuck. Something that was fresh and simple. Something that everyone would be able to remember.

His eyes lit up, heading over to Utonium's desk and pulling out a marker and a white sticker that they always used for labeling things. He wrote something on it, pulled off the sticker, placed it on the bottle and smiled in satisfaction.

He then put it with all of the other untouched chemicals on the high shelf in the back of the room and his grin only grew. He then said proudly.

"Chemical X. My very first creation." he sighed. "I'm so proud."

He then started to clean up the empty beakers and placed them in the lab's washroom to be cleaned. He nodded to see that his work space was clear before heading upstairs as well, turning off the lights as he did it.


	2. Testing X

It was the following day at the Utonium house and the two scientists were seated for breakfast. The duo had a lot of work that needed to be done today so a simple meal was prepared: a frozen breakfast sandwich that was heated up in the microwave and some coffee.

Utonium sat at the table, sipping his beverage as he read the paper. His eyes remained on the pages as he picked up his drink from time to time. Jo, on the other hand, was munching his sandwich and gulping down the contents of his mug simultaneously. His black eyes would glance up at his partner from time to time but he remained focus on finishing his meal.

Jo was ready for this day to come and he wanted to start running tests with the new chemical. Sure, it could do something horrible to anyone it comes in contact with or even do something good, but they would never find out if they don't test it on anything.

His partner let out a long sigh and he looked up, watching as Utonium placed his newspaper down on the table.

"Another robbery in our neighborhood." the taller man stated, shaking his head. His eyes looked tired despite having a good chunk of sleep the previous night. He cracked a small smile. "Good thing we installed that high tech security system."

Jo nodded. "It's a shame no one wants to fund it. The Mayor pitched in sure, but he isn't made of money and can't fund the half of million dollars it takes to put it on every house in Townsville."

Utonium's smile turned sheepish. "It did take a lot of our own cash to build it in our own home."

"But it was worth it."

The taller man sighed, closing his eyes and shaking his head. His smile disappeared as he spoke. "It would have been so much better if we had them installed in the entire town..."

Jo lowered his eyes to his plate. He had to admit that Utonium was right about that. Sure, they were safe from anything that happened outside since they mostly stayed in their lab all day but not everyone worked from home. And there were people who did that weren't safe there. They were just as vulnerable as everyone else.

On the other hand, it wasn't like people were antagonized every night. The crimes were sporadic; anyone could get hurt no matter who they were or what they did. Sure they had tested their security system every now and again to make sure it was flawless, but there was always a possibility of it malfunctioning or get destroyed in the middle of the night. It's a risk that didn't sit well in Jo's stomach.

They needed someone to stop all of this before anybody else got hurt. They needed a miracle. They needed a breakthrough. They needed a hero.

Utonium suddenly changed the topic. "So, do you know what you're going to call the new chemical?"

Jo's eyes lit up. He had forgotten why he was excited about today! He really wanted to start doing tests with his new elixir! He was so upset about the news that the joy of a new day had slipped his mind entirely!

The shorter man beamed. "Chemical X! I already put the label on it and everything!"

His lab partner raised an eyebrow. "Chemical X? Why did you call it that? What does the X stand for?"

Jo smiled sheepishly. He honestly had no idea why he called it that. It was easy to say and wasn't unnecessarily long like some chemicals he knew of. Also, just in case he received fame from the concoction, it would be memorable. It would be stuck in people's memory and everyone would want to use it...if it did something useful.

Of course, he wasn't going to tell him that he wanted to become famous off of it. It would make him look conceded and unfair. Also, Jo did say that the two of them were responsible for the chemical's creation. They did it together, he said.

A part of him felt like he shouldn't have said that.

"...There's really no reason why I called it that. It's just a name that sort of stuck." Jo admitted. "Also, the X doesn't stand for anything." a thought then came to him and he said it aloud. "I guess I called it Chemical X because it leaves so many questions. Like the ones you just asked me. It would leave people who hear about it wanting to learn more about it."

Utonium cracked a small smile. "That makes sense Jo."

Jo grinned back before grabbing his now cold coffee and drinking the rest of it. He placed his mug down and headed out of the room. "I'm heading to the lab now. I'm going to do an experiment on the rats!"

"Don't start without me." his partner chided with a chuckle.

He then started to clear the table of china and putting all of the dishes in the sink. He made a mental note to wash everything later, wash his hands and headed down the steps with his partner.

* * *

"Now which one should I start with?"

When Utonium walked into the lab, Jo had brought the lab rats' cage out of the backroom and had placed them at his workstation. The shorter male was eyeing the rodents and didn't even flinch when his partner opened and closed the basement door. After a bit of staring, Jo headed over to his desk and pulled out a clipboard with empty slips of paper already on it as well as a ballpoint pen.

He glanced at the other man as he did it and asked him. "Which rat do you think we should test it on first?"

"Probably an older one." Utonium suggested before tapping his chin. "But then again, it may not work as well on them."

"Then I'll test it on...Number One since he's the oldest and Number Seven since she's the youngest." Jo mumbled, lifting out the mentioned rodents that had the number on their color coded vests.

As the shorter man placed both rats on the table, they started to scurry around. One's blue eyes examined the white walls of the room as his brown nose twitched to capture any differences in smells. Seven, meanwhile, just ran around the surface, her brown eyes seemingly amazed and relieved of being free from the cage.

One turned to Jo as it seemed to have calm down quicker than the other rodent. The mentioned man nodded, lifted the older creature into his hands before talking him to his desk. Utonium, meanwhile, stayed with Seven, rubbing her head gently and staring over at Jo.

The taller man noticed that his lab partner was already holding a syringe full of Chemical X. He must have did it while he was straightening up the dining room. That didn't take him more that a couple of minutes so he did it rather quickly. He was really excited when he headed downstairs so the emotion he had for this was genuine.

Utonium watched as Jo injected the chemical into the rodent slowly, moving his yellow vest a little as he did it. He picked up Seven and headed closer to the table, trying to see the experiment for himself. His eyes widened as he watched One's pupils dilate beyond what is normally possible. The little creatures' body started to twitch freakishly, his limbs jerking up and down. He was kicking and squirming as his mouth started spilling frothy saliva.

It looked like he was having a seizure.

Before the taller man could say anything, Jo took the needle out. The two watched as One continued to jerk around wildly, letting out noises that made him almost sound like he was choking. Utonium covered Seven's eyes as One continued to seize.

Jo meanwhile, nodded and started taking notes.

One proceeded to let out choking noises as he stopped seizing. His eye twitched a little before his pupils turned back to normal. The older rat then ceased movement entirely, his eyes starting to slowly dissolve into his skull and the chemical oozing out of every orifice on his face.

Utonium bit his lip, staring at the living rat in his hands before looking at the one that had passed. He glanced up at Jo, who had finished taking notes to stare at One's dead body. He seemed unfazed by the disturbing sight and looked up at his partner.

"When did he die?" he asked almost monotonously.

It was free of any sort of emotion. It was a tone that someone would use when conducting business. When someone wanted to sound as unforgiving as humanly possible. When someone was trying to void themselves of feeling any sort of pain or sympathy.

It almost sounded inhuman.

Utonium turned to the clock. "9:30."

"Three minutes." Jo noted on the paper in front of him. "Maybe I put too much into him at once." he glanced at the syringe and spoke as he wrote. "1.5 cc is too much...I'll make a note to put less in Seven's bloodstream as to not overwhelm her system." he put his hand out. "Give her here."

The movements Jo made were almost robotic, as if he didn't care about the rat that him and Utonium raised together from birth had died. It made the taller man feel a little heartbroken, remembering all of the good times they had together when it was just the three of them. Like eating cubes of cheese together and watching movies.

However, he removed all of those thoughts as quickly as they came. They were lab rats. They were used so things can be tested without causing any harm to humans. They were doing their job.

But the act still left a foul taste in Utonium's mouth.

"Hand her over Utonium." Jo stated, shaking his partner out of his thoughts.

The taller man complied hesitantly as he gently held One's corpse, which was already spilling out all of fluids in his little body. He quickly placed it in the contamination waste basket before heading back over to the table.

He watched as Jo placed 0.5 cc of Chemical X into Seven's system.

Utonium held his breath as he noticed that her pupils started to dilate oddly. However, they came back to normal quicker than One's did. Her chestnut brown eyes changed to a bright magenta color as she looked around the room. She eyed the taller man before glancing at Jo, who had readjusted her pink vest before grinning in satisfaction.

"There we go." the short scientist grinned, rubbing Seven's short black coat. "All done."

The small rat's nose twitched rapidly, eyeing everything in the room at speeds that Utonium didn't think was possible. She looked suddenly crazed, as if someone just touched her food and ate it all in one bite. She looked as if she wanted to kill someone.

But she stayed in one spot and didn't move a muscle, apart from her abnormally pink eyes, which darted around wildly.

"Do you think I should inject the other lab rats with it?" Jo asked, staring excitedly at the cage.

Utonium shook his head slowly, dread and fear appearing only in his eyes as he looked at the other rodents from the other end of the room. "I think that's enough for today."

Jo nodded, lifting Seven and putting her back in the cage with the others. All of the other rats moved away from her as she came in but the man that placed her there didn't seem to care. He glanced at the clock and noticed that it was almost ten.

"Are you sure you want to stop Utonium?" the small man asked. "I mean, we still have the rest of the day ahead of us and we aren't doing anything else."

The taller man nodded. He didn't want to lose another one of the rats. Although both Seven and One were tested and the former survived the ordeal, the sight of the latter's corpse still plagued his mind. He hated the sight of it and never wanted to see such a gruesome sight ever again.

Utonium nodded again, slowly. "I'm sure. I..." he ran a hand through his hair. "I think we should take a break..."

Jo simply shrugged, taking off his gloves and lab coat. "Works for me."

He then walked upstairs, leaving Utonium alone. The tall man laid his head on his desk and let out a long sigh.

He knew he wasn't supposed to be emotionally attached to lab rats, especially since they were supposed to risk their lives in the name of science. But he was, mostly since they got the rats when they were little. Number One held a special place in his heart because he was the first one they had gotten before starting their experiments. He loved that rat like a child.

And now he was gone. Worst of all, Jo didn't even care.

Utonium felt a bit of tears fall down his cheeks and he just let them go. He didn't wipe them away, he didn't stop them from dripping down his face. He just left them be, tucking his face into the crook of his folded arms and staying there for a long while.


	3. The Hard Knock Life

**Just a little reminder of things in PPG episodes: Sedusa was called Ima Goodelady (or Goodlady, idk how it was spelled) in her debut episode, when she tried to date the Professor. She is called that for...a good portion of this story so...just letting you know.**

**With that being said, enjoy!**

Living in Townsville came with sacrifices. A lot of people would try to give up something that would make the burden of them residing in the very town less of a pain. Most people who would lessen the load would give up a pet or quit their job to find better opportunities in a technology based field. One that allowed them to work from home.

Some of these people would give up their own children.

Whether they were just born or very young, they couldn't really care for them since the risk of them being killed was high. Most of the people who decided that this was best for their kids simply didn't care and would put them into the underground system, where they were usually sold to be slaves for gangs in the area, or murdered for sport.

On the other hand, there were parents who actually worried for their children. They want them to have a good home to be raised in and felt as though they weren't fit to care for them due to the crippling city. And those people took their kids to the orphanage.

The systems resided in the same building though, with that one person doing dirty deals at night and following laws in the day. All they cared about was the money that they loitered from the government and the hope for more in the future.

As a result, little went to the kids for education or fun purposes. There was hardly any schooling since he couldn't pay a full time instructor to teach the little guys. There was no holidays, just a simple "happy birthday" or "merry Christmas" before continuing with the day. There were meals but they weren't as delicious and hearty as it should be for a growing child. Just sludge and clumpy porridge.

Even so, the children awaited for the day where they would be adopted into a loving home. Praying that maybe their parents would come back to them or a better family was waiting for them in the outside world. Hoping that they won't get sucked into any of the gang violence and death happened on the other side of their windows.

Until then, they just acted as any kid should. And that included getting into mischief. Today was no different.

"Hey!"

A boy laughed as he ran away from the girls' bedroom, clutching something underneath his black T-shirt. His bushy brown hair flowing in the air as he ran down the steps of the orphanage. He maneuvered around other kids or caretakers that got in his way before making it to the living room.

The interior of the building was dull and similar, with wooden walls and floors. There was no color other than the painting of the establishment's owner and his daughter plastered on corners of the rooms and halls. Even the living room didn't have much furniture or color. Just a scratched up leather armchair and a wooden stool. Not enough space for twenty children to make themselves at home.

After the brunette had disappeared from the staircase, a little girl quickly walked after him. She was wearing blue footie pajamas with lighter stripes going across it. Her dark blonde hair was tied in low pigtails that bounced as she went down each step. As she made it to the bottom, she glanced around the staircase before going down the small hall that led towards the kitchen and living room.

"Mitch!" she called out. "Where are you? Can you give me Octi back please?"

The girl peered into the kitchen for a brief second before going to the living room. Her frown deepen as she scanned the room, not finding the person she was looking for. She was about to step foot into the room but stopped when Mitch rushed past her, pushing her out of the way as he did it.

"Hey!" she cried out again, running after him. "Come back here!"

Mitch laughed heartily as he ran up the steps again. The girl was hot on his tail, panting as she jumped up every step. He quickly reached the top before her and cackled as he pulled the plush octopus from his shirt. He waved it high for her to see as he chided.

"If you want it, come get it~!"

The blonde gritted her teeth before letting out exhausted pants. She excreted more energy as she pushed her way up the steps. Once she reached the top, she noticed that he was no longer there. She stopped to catch her breath. She could feel the tears threatening to fall from her eyes. She sniffled and wiped them away.

Mitch was always one to bully the girls. He would always pull their hair, spit in their food while they weren't looking and took stuff. The victim of it all was poor Octi, who would always get taken away from her. Worst of all, when she would report it to the other caretakers of the orphanage, like Miss Goodelady, she wouldn't do anything about it. This just made her feel more hopeless and sad.

She just wished Mitch would just get adopted already.

She also wish that she could get adopted someday.

"Holly."

The blonde - Holly - lifted her head up. She wiped her face with her forearm and noticed that there was an African American boy with glasses and freckles standing in front of her. He was smiling reassuringly and holding out her beloved Octi for her to reach. She grabbed the toy gently and hugged it.

"Oh Octi! I'm so glad to have you back!"she stared up at the boy in front of her and beamed. "Thank you Joey!"

The boy nodded. "You're welcome. I found him in the boys' room on the bed. Mitch must've gotten bored or something."

Holly nodded, standing up and heading back into the girls' room. Once she got there, she was greeted to major of the girls in there. She raised an eyebrow, glancing at clock that was on the wall. It was almost 4:30, why was everyone upstairs?

She decided not to question it for a while and took a seat on her shared bed. Next to her was a brunette girl with long hair and blue eyes. She wore a white T-shirt with a green apple in the front and some red pants. The brown haired girl raised an eyebrow at the blonde as she sat on the bed.

"Hey Holly, where have you been?" she asked.

The blonde let out a sigh, looking down at her plush octopus and rubbing his head. "I've been dealing with Mitch. He took Octi again..."

"That's the third time this week! Did you do anything to him?"

Holly glanced at the brunette before lowering her head in defeat. She didn't really understand why Mitch would always pick on her. She had never done anything to him, to anyone for that matter. She was a kindhearted, respectful girl who loved animals. Not once had she bothered the boy without a good reason for doing so. Like when Octi was taken by him.

She didn't understand him but stayed hopeful that maybe one day, he'll apologize. Maybe even let her play with him in a way where his rules would seem fair. But for now, she was willing to wait at least a little longer.

"No..." Holly mumbled, shaking her head. "But it doesn't matter, I can wait. Sooner or later, it's going to stop. I don't know how but it will."

The brunette shrugged. "Whatever you say."

Holly decided to change the subject as she notice more girls entered the bedroom. "Anyway, what's going on today Robin? Why is everyone going into the bedrooms?"

"There supposed to be an announcement about something." Robin replied before she bounced her shoulders slightly. "No idea why tho-"

"Alright girls! Listen up!"

Any talking that was going on ceased as the door swung open to reveal a girl and a woman. The younger female had red hair that was put in curly pigtails as well as freckles. She was wearing a warm cream sweater and a black skirt with matching stockings. On her feet were pure white fur boots that were bright against the dark wooden floor. The woman beside her was a pale female with freckles and bright green eyes. She has short, snow white hair and she was wearing a long white buttoned down shirt and a pink shirt that clung to her wide hips. She also had peach colored pumps that clunked against the wooden planks as she entered with the angry redhead, who announced the statement.

Her black eyes glanced around the room before her attention turned to the other girls. She cleared her throat a little before saying. "Now, as you all may know, you dorks are supposed to having dinner at six but since the kitchen is low on food, you aren't getting anything until tomorrow afternoon."

The girls made noises of disappointment before the redhead snapped her fingers impatiently, causing them to shut up. She continued talking.

"Secondly, I would like to announce that while you twits are starving, me and Ima are going to be having dinner with Daddy tonight~!"

"Hey! That isn't fair!" a girl in the corner of the room butted in. She had long scarlet - almost brown - hair and was wearing a white T shirt and pink sweatpants. Her brown eyes glared daggers at the other girl who just entered the room as she approached her. "How come you guys get to eat while the rest of us starve?!"

The woman smirked wickedly, bending down a little so that they could see eye-to-eye. "It's simple Ass-ley. We're loved and have wonderful families of our own and you little monkeys have nothing but old clothes and broken toys." she flicked the girl's nose. "And you know what, because of your little outburst, no food until next week."

The children gasped, causing Ima and the redhead girl to cackle. The latter then added as the duo headed out of the room.

"Carry on with whatever sad thing you were doing~!" she then slammed the door behind her, making the room shake just a bit.

"Way to go Ashley!" a girl with short caramel brown hair tied in a ponytail exclaimed, crossing her arms. "Now we're all gonna starve!"

Robin turned to the girl that just spoke and glared at her. "Hey! Stop that Susie! Ashley was standing up for us!"

"She could've kept it to herself!" another girl's voice rang out. This one had pitch black hair and jade eyes. "Sure Princess and Ima are a bunch of pricks but they are the ones in charge around here. I would've done the same thing if they weren't on the top of the food chain."

Robin's eyes shifted to Ashley. "...Jaiden has a point."

"Anyway, I'm going ta bed." Jaiden climbed into the bed. and covered herself up with the blanket. "I advise the rest of you do the same."

Some of them nodded and started getting comfortable in their beds. Holly was one of them, snuggling with Octi as she covered the blanket over herself. Robin followed suit, laying on the other side of the bed. The brunette glanced out of the window before turning to the blonde. Just as she did it, Ashley walked over to the light switch.

"Let's just get some rest." she said before turning off the lights. "Good night everyone."

It was almost six and the sun was still somewhat visible in the sky but nonetheless, the girls headed to bed, ignoring their aching stomach pains. Robin then whispered, still staring out the window.

"Hey...Holly?"

The blonde sat up. "Hmm?"

"Do you think we're ever gonna get out of here?"

Holly was a girl who tried to hold a lot of hope for the world. Although Townsville was an awful place to be due to all of the crime, she believed that it could change for the better with a little bit of kindness and understanding of others' issues. She didn't think that everyone could be reformed but she knew that maybe people were bad because others were mean to them.

This led to why she was in the foster system. It was mainly because her parents couldn't take care of her. They were loving people sure, but they never had enough funds to bring food on the table every night or give her gifts on holidays. They felt like they were failing her so they gave her up. Holly understood and she had hope that one day, she'll go back to them or with a nice family who loved her dearly.

She nodded in Robin's direction. "I'm sure we'll get out of here someday and when we do, I wanna go with you."

The brunette gasped. "Really?"

"Yeah!" she grabbed her friend's hands and squeezed them tightly into her own. "We can be sisters!"

"Oh, that'll be wonderful! You think they'll adopt both of us even though we aren't real sisters?"

"I'm sure of it!"

The two of them hugged before making themselves comfortable in bed. Holly squeezed Octi tightly before whispering.

"Good night Robin!"

"Night Holly! Sweet dreams!"

Although light of the setting sun still seeped from the windows, the girls slowly went to sleep. The sounds of their stomachs ached them dearly and kept them awake. But after a while of silently staring at nothing but walls, windows and the ceiling, they eventually headed into dreamland.


	4. Argument and Revelation

Utonium had an uneasy feeling in his stomach.

Throughout the week, him and Jo had been watching Seven's progress with the Chemical X. They (mainly the shorter male) had decided to give the rest of the lab rats similar doses of the concoction. Some of them (Numbers Two, Three and Four) died but it was a few days after they were given the treatment. Their passings also weren't as terribly gruesome as One's, much to Utonium's relief. The other rodents (Numbers Five, Six and Seven) lived on and started to show the side effects of the drug.

Jo found the first sign that the chemical was working the day after he had given it to Seven.

He had came downstairs after breakfast to see that the black rat had dented the cage, allowing all of the other rodents to get free. Also Seven was flying around the lab, knocking things over. The amazement and joy on his face was something to behold as he and Utonium cleaned up the mess. They also placed the rats in a side room so that they won't interfere.

Days pass after that and the rodents started showing more superhuman capabilities. They started ripping holes into walls with their laser vision. They got out of the lab more frequently, blasting off the door knob and flying into the kitchen. Every morning, they would be found eating food from the fridge or the pantry.

While Jo was happy to clean up after them and take notes on their progress, Utonium was started to get worried. He wasn't worried about the rats trying to take over their house's food supply or the fact that they may end up dying like the other rodents have. He was worried that his partner may want more to this.

He could see in the shorter man's eyes that he wanted something more to this experiment. He wanted to expand his testing. He was hungry for knowledge. He wanted to know how things worked. How they reacted in different scenarios and varying situations. He appreciated that about Jo when they first became pals in high school but now, he knew that that curiosity will be the thing that will hurt him.

Which was when the pit in Utonium's stomach started to grow.

Almost two months after Chemical X was given to the youngest lab rat, Seven had passed away. She was mid-flight when she suddenly stopped and fell to the floor with a thud. It happened just as Jo headed downstairs for the day. He was devastated momentarily but he quickly dialed back and took notes. She was the second one given the treatment and the last one to die from it.

The amazement return to Jo's features as he realized this.

Utonium came downstairs after him and noticed Seven's dead body. If he were completely honest, it no longer pained him to see a dead rat. He was used to it after six other rodents died due to the concoction. Sure One's death stuck out to him and it still hurt him emotionally to recall the black fluid leaking out of him the way it did, but the others looked reasonably peaceful when they move into the afterlife.

They looked as they should.

What Utonium focused on was the look in Jo's eyes as they made eye contact. The look made the uneasy feeling the taller man had become more apparent to him. He knew that something awful was about to be suggested. Something terrible that would make the pit in his stomach surface so that the anxiousness showed on his features.

For now, he remained calm until the idea was spoken aloud. And after just a few moments of them staring at each other, he said it.

"I think we should test this on humans."

There it was.

Utonium's eyes widened and a look of horror appeared on his features. He had just started feeling alright with lab rats dying every couple of weeks. He hated to say that but he was truly used to the rodents passing on. But it was entirely different if it was a human.

A human had a family to actually go back to. Parents, siblings, spouses, even children of their own that they cherished and loved. What will they do if they died in the process of an experiment and ruled out like a item on a checklist? They would be so distraught and the idea of that happening to anyone didn't sit well in Utonium's stomach.

"No Jo. This is where we draw the line." he said firmly, his horror turning to anger.

Jo raised an eyebrow. "Why not? We could always ask them for permission."

The taller man shook his head. "No one's going to say yes to an experiment where they know that rats have died in the testing phases...!"

"Then we don't tell them."

Jo had said this so flatly, so seriously that the uneasy feeling started to dwell heavier on Utonium's conscience. It made him feel sick but he stayed as calm and collective as he could. He shook his head once more, this time more adamantly.

"We're not doing that to someone Jo! People are already dying in the outside world by horrible people! Do you want to be one of those criminals who are murdering people?!"

The smaller man said nothing, his eyes going wide slightly.

The taller of the two felt slightly better about Jo's realization of the situation. However, that look was only temporary when he looked at the dead lab rat on the floor. He then looked back up at Utonium with a look of conviction.

However, Jo's lips remained a straight line as he said. "I think we should take a break..."

* * *

Jo had returned to the lab in the middle of the night.

His ideas were swarming around in his brain, it was driving him mad. He really believe that they had a game changer on their hands. He believed that Chemical X could be used to help the world. To help the city of Townsville. He really thought that Utonium would see this, that he would be on his side about this.

But that wasn't the case.

Utonium believed that if they were to test it on human beings that he would be considered a murderer. Sure Jo found that putting people through an experiment that could kill them was unethical, but it had to be done to help the world. To make it a better place.

Jo sat down at his desk and skimmed through his notes. Almost all of the rats lived past one week, except One. But that was simply because he had used too much of the chemical. Two and Three died next after their eighth and ninth days of experimentation. Five and Six passed after their fifth week mark and Seven midway through the eighth week.

The younger they were, the longer the Chemical lasted.

He then remembered the other lab rats once again. In his notes, he had pointed out that Two through Seven died without any fluids expelling from their bodies except for X when their bodies have been decomposing for ten minutes. Maybe it was because X intertwined with their blood and filled their veins and blood vessels with X.

"Maybe if I keep supplementing blood into their system every week, they'll live longer..." He flipped to a fresh page in his notepad and wrote it down. "Yeah, that's what I should do."

The only issue he had left on the table was who was he going to test this on.

Jo thought about the lengths of life between all of the lab rats. He couldn't test it on adults, it was too risky and the idea of supplying lots of blood into them to keep them from dying was a bad idea. Additionally, no consenting adult would ever agree to do this experiment, Utonium was right about that. The risk of them dying was too high.

Children however...

Kids were naive and impressionable. If you told them that you have figured out a way for them to become a superhero, their eyes would light up and they would love to do it. He would be able to do the experiment no problem. Sure the possibility of them dying was still there but at least they had a better chance of surviving it.

However, there was a problem with that. Most kids in Townsville had a parent or two. And Jo would have to get through them if he wanted to do tests on a child. And there was no way that was ever going to happen. He couldn't just approach their guardians and say "Hi, can I use your kid for an experiment that may kill them?"

No, there had to be another way...

The Townsville orphanage was filled with unwanted children. Plus, he had heard that the man running the place - Mr. Morbucks - was pretty sketchy and low brow when it came to some of his deals. As long as he was getting money from it, he'll do whatever you ask him to do. It was perfect. he had the perfect plan.

But he couldn't do it in this lab. There was a terribly high risk of getting caught by his partner if he did it here. He would have to find a different spot if he really wanted to do these experiments. He would have to save up some money to buy a place or find someone who would be willing to assist with little cash on his end.

It was a little risky, especially since he would have to associate himself with a stranger, but it was a risk he was willing to take.

Anything to help the city. Anything to save his Chemical X from fading into obscurity.

He grabbed his laptop and turned it on. After a bit of waiting for it to start up as well as typing his password, he started searching the web for individuals who could assist him in the task. He searched for hours, trying to find someone with enough space to conduct the experiment he plan on doing.

After a while, Jo had found someone requesting a roommate. His eyes widened as the description for the advertisement was something almost too good to be true.

"'Looking for anyone willing to share a home with.'" Jo read from the ad. "'It is rather large, too big for just one person to stay in without getting paranoid. Roommate is required to have some sort of occupation but it is not required for them to pay any bills. I have it all covered. Roommate also has to have proper hygiene and is fun to hang out with.'"

He then went to the pictures and he emerged into another state of shock.

Like stated in the description, the house was really large. It was a white and cream exterior with a flower bed of different colored flora in the front. There was also a small roundabout leading up to the building and had a little bit of stairs to get up to the door. Pictures of the inside were limited but the kitchen and the living room areas were spacious and had enough to cater to the amount of people he may have to bring into the home.

The only thing he had left to do was to confirm with his new roommate that he could do his experiments there. He would also have to tell Utonium that he was leaving. He wasn't going to do it immediately and wanted to make it look as normal as possible. He didn't want his lab partner to grow suspicious.

Jo nodded to himself before looking at the Info page of the ad and contacted the person via email. He had said he was interested and if they could meet up somewhere to chat about the arrangement. He sent it and closed the laptop before turning in for the night, excited for their response.

And even more excited for what was to come.


	5. Partner-In-Crime

**Sorry for the long gap between chapters! I haven't worked on this story in a while (even if I am up to chapter 20).**

**Anyway, I hope you all enjoy it! I own none of the characters!**

**Also...did I mention that this is practically a human AU? I put it on AO3 but I don't think I said it here. My bad...**

Jo felt out of place in the environment he was in.

He was told by the individual in the roommate ad to meet at the Townsville Eatery, one of the more high-end restaurants. He was in the part of the city where the middle and lower class wouldn't even dare to enter. This place was catered to the rich and only for the rich.

Additionally, Jo was told to dress up for this kind of place. And so, he wore a black tuxedo and a purple tie. It made him look sophisticated but out of place as he boarded the public transit to get there. He felt like he was unable to move or sit or do anything without getting a part of his outfit dirty but he pressed on, silently wishing that the person he was supposed to meet had picked him up from home.

Speaking of home, he had to leave the house a little earlier as to not get any questions from Utonium. He could deal with it when he got home instead of being bombarded with inquiries as he walked out the door. Also he didn't want to get lost in a section of the city he had never been in. It made him start sweating.

"Not in the tuxedo..." he mumbled to himself, slowly going into his pocket and applying some cologne for precautionary measures.

After riding on a train and a bus as well as getting directions from some kind locals, he found the building he was looking for. He let out a heavy sigh, removing all of the nerves from his system before walking in. His eyes lit up as he stared at the interior.

Townsville Eatery was a massive establishment, it was easy to tell even from the outside. But the inside made it seem much larger with a plethora of tables and chairs all bunch up together with enough room for waiters and waitresses to move around. There were also booths in the corners just in case you didn't want to sit in the middle of the room. Jo was also focused on the large golden chandelier hanging from the ceiling as well as the shiny items that littered the place like the diamond tree that was placed up front.

The hostess, a brunette lady with dull hazel eyes, looked down slightly at Jo and asked monotonously. "Can I help you sir?"

He opened his mouth to reply but closed it when he realized he didn't know who his new roommate was or what they looked like. His eyes lowered to the floor as he tried to think of what he could say when he noticed white high heeled boots approaching him.

Jo looked up to see a man wearing a white suit with a pink boa over his shoulders. He had short black hair and a small goatee. Although he was dressed mostly masculine, he had slight hints of blush on his dark cheeks and some crimson lipstick to make him look feminine. His body shape was also more on the female spectrum with wider hips and a flat chest.

The man looked as if he was about to tap the shorter male's shoulder but stopped midway when he had realized he had turned around. The taller male's bright green eyes blinked when they made eye contact and they both blushed, turning away awkwardly.

After a few moments, Jo turned back to him. "Um...hi there."

He turned and waved. "Hi...uh..." he grinned. "I was just looking for someone...I didn't tell him any information about me or what I look like so..."

"Are you..." he blushed before opening his phone to show him the email address. "This person...?"

"I am~!" he replied with a grin, shaking hands with the other man. "Names Lucas Him. But people simply call me by my last name."

"Joseph Chimp." he said with a nod. "But friends call me Jo."

"Nice to meet you!" Him's smile never faltered as he strutted over to the hostess. "Morning Janet, how's the husband and the kids~?"

She shrugged. "They're breathing..."

"Excellent. Table for two please."

She nodded, grabbed two menus and left the podium she was standing behind. She gestured them to follow her and they complied. As they walked, Jo took note of all of the people who have already situated themselves in the restaurant. He then glanced down at his phone, staring at the time.

It was almost eleven and people were already so alert. He didn't fully wake up until around noon although he would get out of bed at nine. The only times when he would feel more energized in the morning was when he was conducting the Chemical X experiments. Now that that was over, he didn't feel like it was worth getting out of bed until today rolled around. Now he felt like he had lots of vigor to move into the next phase of his tests.

He just had to get his partner to agree to work with him.

The two of them reached their table a few seconds after he got out of his thoughts and sat down. Their table was in the very back of the restaurant, close enough to smell the food of the kitchen right through the door they sat next to. The light was way more dim in this area, with nothing but a small crystal lamp hanging above the table to give them a source to see. There was also no window by their booth even though they were seated in a corner.

If the room was any indicator to the time of day, Jo would've assumed it was night time.

He glanced up at the person across from him and blushed a little. He had to admit that Him was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. He had such appeal with his dark features and bright lime colored eyes. As Him typed something on his phone, Jo just stared at him before he looked down at the table nervously. He shouldn't be staring, that was rude.

"Hey Jo."

The shorter male stared up at the dark beauty in front of him and his heart started racing. He gulped a little as Him smiled reassuringly.

"You alright honey? You seem tense."

"F-fine." he stuttered before covering his mouth and looking to the side of the table. He then sighed and admitted. "I...I guess you can say I am kind of nervous. I mean...we don't even know each other and-"

"Then let's do it." Him smiled. "That's what we came here for. To get to know each other."

Jo nodded and smiled back at the other male.

The two of them spend a bit of the morning talking about events and people in their lives. Jo told Him that his folks were kindhearted laboratory workers for the Townsville police department while the other man discussed that his mother was part of the fashion industry while his dad was an assistant to a Senator in DC. They also went on about how much they missed the glory days in the town where everyone didn't have to live in fear all the time.

"It's a miracle that this place hasn't been robbed yet." Him stated after the fact. "I mean, this place is riveting with expensive shit."

Jo nodded. "I wonder the exact same thing. Maybe someone of criminal background owns the place?"

"Maybe..."

The shorter man glance at the table, where his empty plate laid. His eyes traced the rim around the piece of china, eyeing the crumbs of pancake and droplets of whipped cream remaining. His focus then returned to Him as the duo made eye contact.

"Hey...Him? Can I ask you something?"

"Ask away darling."

Jo bit his lip. This was the conversation he was afraid of. He really didn't want to bring it up but he had to be truthful with this kind of stuff. He didn't want to seem like a bad person if he was keeping secrets from a person he wanted to stay with.

"Well..." the shorter man scratched the back of his neck, shifting his ponytail to his shoulder as he talked. "It's kind of about what I do. I'm a lab assistant under Professor Utonium. We kind of do a little bit of odd work under the Mayor but our assignments are far and in between. One day, we...I made a chemical called Chemical X and when injected into someone, it can give them superhuman abilities."

Him's eyes widened but he nodded as Jo continued.

"We've tested on lab rats and they all died by the time two months had rolled around. I told my partner if we could maybe test it on humans but-"

"He denied it." the other man finished, his green eyes leveled. "Said it was unethical."

"Y-yeah..." he then sighed and said with conviction. "But I'm so close to a breakthrough! I don't want my chemical to fade into obscurity by other...ineffective things that the bullshit system had already chucked out! My chemical works! I could show you if you let me do my experiments in your house!" he clasped his hands together. "Please Him! I beg you!"

The other man motioned his hands downward a few times, telling Jo to quiet down. He complied and silently apologized as Him started thinking to himself.

Jo gulped, watching Him scan the dirty table to come to a conclusion. The stress of the situation had gotten to the shorter man. He really wanted X to be something great. To help the city of Townsville in some way, shape or form. Maybe to make him some money.

If Him declined to help him, he was stuck trying to find another way out of Utonium's house. It will be more time not spent on finding people to use Chemical X on. It will be time not using the concoction at all. But if he did decide to help...Jo will be able to get his creation out there, to make the world a better place.

Him cleared his throat, causing Jo to look back at the man. There was a gleam to his eye that the shorter man had never seen on anyone before. And the sight of it kind of turned him on.

"I'll help you." he answered, causing Jo's eyes to light up.

"Really?!"

The dark male nodded, folding his legs underneath the table. "But if you end up making money from this, I want twenty-five percent of the profit."

The other man nodded vigorously, shaking Him's gloved hand. "It's a deal! Oh, thank you! Thank you!"

Him laughed heartedly. "It's no problem cutie~!" he then winked, causing Jo to blush. He giggled again. "Oh JoJo, you're so adorable~!"

The two of them got a little bit of dessert, paid for their meals and headed out the door side by side. As they walked out, the cool autumn air and the sun still shining behind a bit of dull clouds reminded the duo that it was the afternoon. They looked at each other as Him asked.

"You want me to drive you home JoJo?"

The smaller man blinked, weighing his options. He would truly love to drive home with Him in whatever deluxe car he owned. But at the same time, he didn't want Utonium questioning who he was with and why he was with him. He sighed in defeat as his eyes turned to his future roommate.

"I would love to but...my lab partner might grow suspicious. He doesn't know that I'm doing this."

Disappointment graced Him's features but he nodded. "I understand. Let me at least pay for your Uber."

Jo blushed. "O-oh no! You don't need-"

"Nonsense dear. If I feel like giving my man a ride, I'm giving him a ride~!"

The scientist's cheeks were burning, a bashful grin appearing on his face. "I-I...uh..."

Him giggled. "Oopsie~! I think I broke him~!"

Jo chuckled awkwardly. "I-I...um..."

"Let see if I could break him even more~!"

Before he could ask what his roommate meant, Him kissed Jo on the cheek. The scientist's grin grew as Him chuckled, calling an Uber to pick him up.

Now Jo was certain that he was going to enjoy the future of this arrangement.


	6. Moving Day

Jo tried to be very conserved about where he was going on certain days.

He was planning on moving in with Him without catching the attention of Utonium. To do this, he had to think of reasonable excuses and make trips that would make it seem he was doing other things. For instance, when he had went out with his new roommate the first time, he took a quick detour to a cafe to get him some coffee and a couple of muffins before heading home. He then told the taller scientist that he had wanted a change of scenery. He even gave him one of the baked goods he brought home.

It was believable. Utonium believed him.

The next task on Jo's list was to move all of his stuff out of the house and into Him's home. The only problem was that he had to make it look as normal as possible. And so, he would only move his light things, like clothes and little things that he rarely used at the dead of night. Him was outside waiting for him with his car so they would fill the car with the boxes before bringing them to the other house to unload. Of course, they had to take a long detour that got them away from all of the crime of the city. But they were able to safely make it to and from their destination in a night.

They would space these outings out by days, sometimes even weeks. With nothing much to really do, Utonium would find it suspicious to see Jo up at six in the morning, which was when the taller man was up fixing coffee and getting the mail, every day. Sure, certain occasions was okay; he could get away with saying that it was because of insomnia. But no one dealt with multiple insomniac episodes unless there was something wrong with them. So they only went out and move things in small batches.

Soon enough, the last of it was taking care of it. The only thing Jo had left to do was to tell Utonium.

It was the crack of dawn when Jo got up. He could barely sleep, thinking about what he was going to say to his lab partner. A part of him thought this was a terrible idea. That he should just stick to working with his high school friend and forget about Him. Besides trying to do experimentation on children was wrong and if he was found out, he would go to jail for sure. Or worst, end up on death row.

But at the same time, he wanted to see if Chemical X could develop more in people. Give them more than just laser eyes and flying abilities. See if it could truly be used to help the people of Townsville without mishap. He really wanted to witness that, it would pain him if X was never used again.

Also, he really liked Him.

He enjoyed talking with him about lots of things and just being in his presence. He could say that he loved the man, he was a real beauty. But a part of him wanted to remain friends for as long as they could. Relationships were hard to maintain so staying simple companions for a while might be in his best interest.

Jo yawned, sitting up in bed and staring out the window of his room. The darkness in the night sky had disappeared and the sun was just peeking its head out of the horizon. The sky was a brighter shade of the purple it was in the night with subtle hints of blue, orange and pink. It was pretty and he could stare at it for hours.

But he really had to get ready.

The smaller man slipped out of bed, folded up his blanket and sheet before placing it all in the edge of the mattress. He then walked towards his closet and picked out the only outfit that was in there: a black sweater and denim jeans with ebony boots. He put the clothes on his bare mattress before walking into the bathroom. He washed his face and brushed his teeth before heading back out and throwing on his attire.

After he finished, he looked around the room.

He remembered years before, when he had first moved in with Utonium. His life had taken a horrible turn when he couldn't keep up his bills at his old apartment and his old convenience store job. None of those things were really fulfilling his purpose and he knew that his heart belonged in the science field. So when he saw that the professor was looking for a lab assistant, he was not only happy to see that his dear friend had succeed in what he wanted to do but he hoped that this opportunity would open doors for him.

And it has.

He could not be happier that Utonium had brought him this far. That he was now the creator of something that could become revolutionized in today's society. Something that would probably change and save lives, while also probably costing some in the process. It made him scared but hopeful, that he'll be doing something that change the world forever.

Jo let out a sigh, recalling when he had told his lab partner that Chemical X was _their_ creation. He no longer believed that but there was no way he was going to tell Utonium to his face. He remembered when he had packed the last of his stuff. He had taken X with him and replaced it with some juice he dyed black. He wanted the lab to look as if his things were untouched and he had to make sure X was still in its place.

Even if it wasn't.

A knock from the door broke Jo from his thoughts as he looked to it. He opened it slightly to see his lab partner smiling at him.

"Good morning Jo." Utonium greeted. "I made breakfast downstairs."

The other man nodded, a sad smile forming on his lips. He didn't really make eye contact with his friend. His eyes looking anywhere else but into the other male's own. "Alright..."

Utonium blinked before raising an eyebrow. "Is something wrong?"

Jo bit his lip. "Kind of...I'll explain when I come downstairs."

His long time companion nodded, now looking slightly concerned. Jo slowly closed the door before eyeing the room one last time. He grabbed his phone, its charger and his bedding before walking downstairs, closing the door slowly as he headed out.

* * *

"So..."

Jo and Utonium were sitting at the table. The latter would usually take this time to drink his coffee and read the newspaper but he had already done those things. His eyes remained on the smaller man, curiosity and concern on his features. The former was not staring at his friend and was instead trying to form words, the right words, to say to his school friend.

"...I'm leaving." Jo said bluntly.

Utonium's concern look intensified, with a hint of shock being thrown into the mix. "I can see that Jo...but I don't understand." his eyes shifted a little. "Why?"

The shorter man looked down at his breakfast, a frozen breakfast sandwich and some coffee, before staring up at his friend. "Well I...found someone and we've been seeing each other for months. I...really like them."

That wasn't a lie but it wasn't the truth either.

The taller man then looked slightly hurt by this revelation. His dear friend had found love and didn't even bother telling him about it. True, Utonium wasn't one to be involved in romance, but there was nothing within Jo's demeanor to prove that he was in love with someone unless he hid it really well. Either he was lying or he knew how to hide things.

"...who are they?" Utonium asked. "At least let me meet them before-"

The honking of a car rang out before he could finish his sentence. A pit formed in Jo's stomach as he didn't think Him would get here so early. He calmed down and made a nudging motion with his shoulder.

"He's here." Jo said. He then smiled reassuringly at his friend. "Wanna walk me out?"

Utonium nodded slowly as his friend left the table. He couldn't really leave as fast as he wanted to. He was still confused by what was going on and how fast it was happening. It was as if he was driving a thousand miles per hour and he had no idea how to stop. He wanted to throw up. He wanted to stop for air.

He wanted his friend to stay.

Quickly, Utonium grabbed his companion's hand before he could reach for the door knob. Jo raised an eyebrow as they made proper eye contact.

The taller man had so many questions but one of them bubbled to the surface and left his lips. "Why?"

Jo blinked. "...why what?"

Utonium's hurt turned to slight anger. "Why w...why would you wait to tell me that you're in a relationship until today? Why wouldn't you tell me about this? I thought we were friends!"

The shorter man lowered his head. He had to think of a proper excuse, something that was believable. And he couldn't prolong it or Utonium was going to think something was up.

"I..." Jo started. "I didn't think you would understand." he then started looking nervous, twiddling his thumbs and staring at his feet. "I-I like guys..."

It wasn't the truth. It wasn't a lie.

The taller man blinked. He forgot that Jo called his lover a he at the last second. Jo was right, he had no idea he liked males. It only occurred to him just now.

He didn't know many gay people but he did know that coming out was really hard for someone to do. It pained him to think Jo was hiding something from him but knowing that it was something he was truly scared to tell him was even worse.

"Oh Joseph..." Utonium sighed, hugging his friend. "I'm sorry..."

"Me too..." Jo muttered, leaning in to the embrace. "I should've told you sooner..."

"It's alright. Things like that are difficult to open up about. But just so know, I accept it and I am completely okay with it."

"Thank you..."

"It's no trouble."

They ended their embrace and they made eye contact. Although Utonium still looked pained, he looked slightly better than how he did before. He smiled at his smaller friend before walking out the door with him.

Outside of the house was a black Mercedes with shaded windows. Because of this, you couldn't tell who was in the vehicle. But Jo already knew who it was. They used this car a few times on their outings. It was Him.

Jo opened the back seat and placed his blanket and sheet in the back. He then closed it and moved to the passenger where he could see Him sitting in the driver's seat with a smile on his face. He then noticed Utonium and waved.

He waved back before looking at his friend, who spoke up. "So...I guess this is goodbye."

"Goodbye for now." he corrected. "We'll see each other again, I hope."

"I hope so too."

They went in for a hug and Utonium was on the brink of crying.

He didn't think this day would come so unexpectedly. Just yesterday, the two of them were just talking out random formulas and chatting about television shows they wanted to catch up on. Now, they were saying goodbye to one another.

He then realized that the timing of all of this was very odd. There would've been subtle hints that he was moving. But Jo had been secretive of it all. He remembered when he had done laundry and it had been smaller on the shorter man's end. He also locked his bedroom door and didn't allow Utonium in there for the last couple of weeks.

Jo was hiding something.

He kept these thoughts to himself though as he watched his friend hop into the car. They said their final goodbyes before the vehicle's door was shut and they drove off. Utonium waved as they left before a worried look appeared on the professor's face.

"Oh Jo...what are you up to?"


	7. Adoption Day

The orphanage was rather quiet this particular morning.

The reason for it wasn't because everyone was still resting in their beds. The children, the caretakers, even Mr. Morbucks was wide awake and alert. It wasn't because something horribly tragic has happened either. Everything was fine and good within the four walls.

It was because it was Adoption Day.

Usually when these days come around, the kids are told to bathe and put on their best clothes for the occasion. They are also forced to brush their teeth until they were pearly white and brush their hair until there was no loose ends. Since they were kids, it was rather difficult for them to do so Ima would also assist. They hated when she did.

Ima would harshly pull at their ears or pluck them if they moved while she worked. She would also fasten hair ties way too tightly or button up shirts too close to their necks so that they couldn't breathe. Even though they were being dressed like dolls, the end result made it worth it. Not only did they look great but the possibility of them being adopted skyrocketed.

If they looked clean and well fed, they were going to be adopted. And this made Ima happy.

Once they were finished getting ready, they were told to stand in the hallway in a straight line. They were supposed to stand a little way from the wall, parallel from where the front entrance was. Their line was supposed to guide the people coming in from the door to Mr. Morbucks' office. They did this with such ease since this day came around almost once a month.

The kids never really understood the purpose of standing the way they did. Sure, being dolled up was fine and all. But why did they have to stand the entire day? It made their feet hurt and some of them would eventually bounce from sitting to standing until it was time for them to eat and go to bed.

It was tiring to say the least.

Once the last child was done getting ready and stood in line, Ima headed towards them. Her green eyes glared at the kids, making sure they were all in order. Some of them shuffled around and fixed themselves before the woman could even ask, which she smiled and nodded at. Others, like Jaiden and Mitch, were too busy prying at their clothes to give the lady any sort of eye contact.

"Jaiden!" Ima scolded, causing the black haired girl to bolt upright. "Stop messing with the ribbon on your dress or I'll tie it tighter!"

The mentioned child frowned. She was wearing a white dress with small four leaved clovers all over it. It was covered in so many frills and lace it made the girl want to vomit. Not only that but there was a large green ribbon tied tightly around her stomach.

Jaiden tapped her black dress shoes on the floor bitterly as she grumbled. "This thing's already tight..."

Ima ignored her and shouted at Mitch. "And Mitch, quit fiddling with your bow tie!"

"It's chokin' me!" he gasped, trying to pry the thing off of him. "I'm gonna die!"

"Quit being a baby Mitch." Jaiden rolled her eyes. "I thought you can handle a little bit of pain~!"

"Can it Jay!"

"Or else what?"

"Shuddup!"

The kids turned to see Princess marching up to Ima from her father's office. The redhead eyed the woman as her yelling was directed to the other kids.

"None of you idiots are gonna get adopted if you keep crying!"

Jaiden and Mitch huffed, staring at the floor.

Princess then said to Ima. "Daddy wants you to run adoption day today. He says he has some important business to handle on the other side of town."

The woman pouted. "What if I don't feel like it?"

"He said that he'll pay you extra for today...in whatever you like, whatever that means."

Ima gasped. a sly grin on her face. "I'll take it, not like I have a choice. Do I?"

"Nah, he already left."

"Right..." she headed down the hall. "Make sure the kids stay in line. Literally."

Princess saluted before turning to the other kids with a wicked smile. She then strutted down the line, eyeing every single child. She suddenly stopped in front of Holly, who was wearing a light blue dress with white frills at the bottom. But the outfit wasn't what the redhead was eyeing. She was looking at the object in her hands.

"...What is that?" the freckled face girl asked, sounding annoyed.

"I-it's Octi." Holly said with a forced smile. She didn't really like Princess and just hoped that the conversation would be over soon.

The redhead nodded before putting a hand out. "Can I hold him?"

The blonde blinked, eyes jumping from Princess' palm to her stuffed toy.

Sure, Holly was always a person who valued sharing but Octi was different. Octi was special. He was the last thing her mother gave her before she moved into the orphanage. The toy was her last piece of hope, allowing her to believe that her family still loved her. That they'll return to her someday.

She didn't want to give him up to her, even if it was for a little while.

Holly softly shook her head.

Princess frowned and it looked genuine sad. "Aww why not? I just wanna hug him. Let me hold him please?"

Holly bit her lip, looking at Octi to Princess.

The redhead always had this awful aura about her. Something about her made the blonde's stomach churn and just made her feel uncomfortable. Sure Princess was a bad person but maybe she's trying to be nice right now. She really wanted to be nice back.

And so, hesitantly, the blonde gave her beloved toy to the redhead.

She immediately regret it.

"Aww~!" Princess gushed. "He's so cute~! I could just pull his little head off~!" she immediately started trying to pry the toy's head off.

"No!" Holly cried but Robin held her back.

"Aww what da matter~?" Princess cooed bitterly, stretching out Octi's fabric. "You're scared that I'm gonna break your stupid little-"

The redhead was cut off when a shoe hit the side of her head. The kids turned towards the front of the line and was greeted to Ashley glaring at Princess. The scarlet haired girl was missing a shoe, further proving that she did the deed.

"Give Holly her toy back Princess!" she demanded as the redhead got up. "Or will I have to whack some sense into you again?"

"My, aren't you kids feisty~!"

The children turned towards the entrance to see two individuals. One was a feminine looking man who was wearing a red and pink fur coat that looked a little too cozy for the autumn weather. It was opened up to show a black top and matching colored pants. He also wore leather high heeled boots that made a loud tap as he walked down the hall. The other person was male as well but about a foot or two shorter. He was wearing a black trench coat that covered everything but his dark brown boots. He had a round and ape-like appearance with long black hair that was pulled into a ponytail as well as a beard.

They walked down the hallway and while the shorter man stared straight ahead, the taller one grinned at Ashley. He then stopped and bend down to her height. He examined her like someone would a piece of furniture, pulling her out and standing up so that he could circle her.

"You are very cute." he stated. "There's also an...intelligent aura about you."

The shorter man looked at the scarlet haired girl as well and nodded softly. "Yes, she does." he smiled. "I like it."

"Me too."

Ashley smiled politely before they continued to walk down the hall. After they entered Mr. Morbucks' office, she turned and got back in line just before her shoe could hit her. She raised her eyebrow and turned to see a fuming Princess.

Ashley tsked, shaking her head sadly. "You have awful aim..."

"Shut up!" the redhead barked. "Shut up or I'll-"

"You'll what? Tell your Daddy? Cry? Because if you plan to do any of those things, I don't really care. I'm getting adopted and there's nothing you can do to change that."

Princess gawked as Ashley smirked. All of the other kids stared at the latter in awe before whooping and clapping their hands gleefully. The redhead screamed in rage before she marched down the hallway and into her father's office.

Holly grabbed her toy and hugged it before turning to the scarlet girl with a smile. "Thank you Ashley!"

"It's no trouble..." she said and blushed. "Anything for a person in need!"

"Ya do realize that there's no guarantee you'll get adopted today right?" Jaiden asked. "I mean, they said that they liked you but that doesn't mean they'll take you."

"I'm pretty sure they will." Ashley grinned confidently. "I mean, I practically already demonstrated my character. I'm helpful, polite, and I have a sense of justice. They'll have to pick me."

The black haired girl pouted. She rolled her eyes before leaning against the wall. "Whatever you say..."

The scarlet girl beamed proudly as she stood at attention. She knew that just in a matter of minutes, she'll be taken in by those two. Or just one of them if they weren't together. Either one will be fine with her.

Not only did those two have an intelligent aura about them but they seemed well respected and dignified, mainly by their clothes. It made her feel proud to see that some people did view her in an adoring light, even though it was at a time when she believed she was at her worst.

She was sure that she was getting adopted today. She was one hundred percent certain of this.


	8. We'll Go with Her

**Should've posted this a while ago but better late than never! Hope you like it!**

Jo felt a little nervous going into the next phase of his plan.

He was able to settle into Him's house comfortably and the two grew close. He also decided to take the week after moving in with his roommate to spend time with him. They watched movies, talk about miscellaneous topics over meals and just grew attached to each other.

Jo had never been in a relationship before, not even in his high school or in his college years. This was trekking entirely new territory but he was glad he could do it with someone so beautiful and understanding. Someone that took it upon himself to make sure that Jo was comfortable and was willing to make changes if there was something wrong. He was grateful for Him and was glad that he was with him.

But as the week of relaxation drew to a close, the plan for X returned to Jo's mind. He started to grow anxious. Not only because this was going to be an exciting experience but also a terrifying one.

What if it didn't work? Will all of this hard work be for nothing? All of the sleepless nights he dealt with, moving his stuff to Him's house? The strain he felt when he had to leave Utonium? Was all of this not worth it?

Or will this lead into the best decision of his life?

The day after their break week, Jo told Him about the next phase of his plan. Him was completely accepting towards it. He looked genuinely excited and said that he'll handle everything. It was something that the shorter man wasn't expecting and it made him feel a little relieved.

And so, he stayed relatively quiet as they walked into the orphanage. They were shocked to not only see the kids all dressed nice but they were gathered in the hall with a scarlet haired girl barking at a redhead.

Jo glanced up at Him as he let out a hum.

He then said. _"My, aren't you kids feisty~!"_

He turned to the children to see their shocked and concerned faces. Even the scarlet girl looked somewhat nervous as he glanced over them. He decided a few seconds later to simply stare ahead as Him inspected the little lady.

_"You're very cute~!"_ his roommate hummed. _"There's also an...intelligent aura about you."_

Jo glanced over at the girl and smiled. She did look rather intelligent compared to her peers. Her posture made her look more confident and hospitable. Even though she stood there with just one shoe on her foot, she stayed collected and mature.

He then nodded in agreement. _"Yes, she does. I like it."_

_"Me too."_ Him agreed, returning to Jo's side.

The two of them watched her nod her head politely as they made their way down the hall. It wasn't that far away from the children and they realized that they were lined up leading to the office. How convenient.

The two then turned to the office door that had a thin gold nameplate that said 'Mr. Morbucks' on it. Jo breathed through his nose and nodded before opening the door and walking inside.

They were greeted to a pale woman with snow white hair on her head. Her green eyes were on the laptop screen in front of her, working on something. Him closed the door rather loudly, causing the lady to look up. She kind of freaked out a bit, slamming the desktop close before scooting it to the side. She greeted them with a polite but forced smile.

"Hello there! Welcome!" she spoke quickly. "Can I help you two?"

Him took the reigns in the conversation. "Yeah, we would like to adopt a couple of children." he then turned to Jo. "If that's alright with you dear?"

The shorter man blushed but nodded. Him had never called him dear. It came as an unexpected surprise and he kind of liked it.

The woman nodded. "All of them are lined up outside. Take as many as you-"

"AAAAHHHHHH!"

The adults turned to the door to see the redhead from before march into the room. She glared up at the lady Him was talking to and shouted at her.

"Can you believe Ashley?! She was being so rude! I hope she never gets adopted so you can throw her in Daddy's cellar to die!"

Him and Jo glanced at each other as the girl continued to yell and scream to the top of her little lungs. The woman started to look more and more annoyed by the second as she continued to stare at the two men, ignoring the child as she went on ranting.

After a while, she walked out of the room. "I'm gonna give her a piece of my mind! I don't even care if I kill her!"

She slammed the door behind her, causing the office to shake a little. The men blinked, eyes going from the door to the woman at the desk.

The woman stroked her hair, cleared her throat, and said. "I'm...so sorry about her. She's kind of a handful to deal with."

"It's fine..." Him replied. "I'm sure she'll be a hassle to get off the market."

She shook her head. "She's not for adoption. Her dad owns the place."

"Oh."

"Anyways..." she continued with a sigh, stroking her hair. "You two could look at the kids yourselves. Take as many as you're financially able to care for."

"If I were to focus on that, we would buy all of them..." Him whispered to Jo, causing him to chuckle.

Suddenly, there was screams coming from the hallway. Their eyes widened as they started hearing thuds and cries from outside as well. They quickly turned towards the door as the woman let out a sigh. She was just about to get out of her chair when the entrance opened.

There stood a small blonde girl with low pigtails. She had a look of fear and concern on her face as children chanting for a fight could be heard just beyond the doorway.

"Miss Goodelady!" she cried. "Princess and Ashley are fighting!"

"I can hear that Holly!" Miss Goodelady stated before maneuvering around the child, Him and Jo quickly following.

In the hallway, the other children were circled around the center of the space. In the middle was Ashley pulling at Princess' pigtails as the redhead pried the other girl's dress. The scarlet girl then kicked the other child in the back of the head as she began to punch and kick her.

The other kids whooped and hollered as the fight continued, not even paying much mind to the woman as she pushed through the kids.

Jo watched this display of violence with widened eyes. Not only did he find it fascinating that such a small child could fight so good but she knew exactly where to attack that would get a reaction out of her opponent. She was more of a coordinated fighter and this sight left the small man impressed.

That child was going to be his.

"Break it up! Break it up!" Miss Goodelady barked, yanking the two girls off of each other. She then glared at the other kids. "Back it line! Now!"

They all complied, talking to each other and laughing as they went. The woman glared at the kids a while after that, causing them to quickly shut up. Her attention then turned to the girls she was holding onto.

Princess was way more injured than Ashley. The former had skid marks from the wooden floor and had bruises all over her face. Nothing on her was dark or swollen, which meant that they weren't as serious even though they was traces of blood on them. The latter only got away with nail scratches and some minor bruises on her face.

"Ima! Can you believe Ashley?!" Princess was sobbing. "Sh-she attacked me! I'm gonna tell my Daddy when he gets back!"

"Don't listen to her Miss Goodelady! She started it with me!" Ashley snapped, glaring at the redhead.

"Shut up! Both of you!" Ima yelled. "I don't wanna hear any of it! You two are making a fool out of me! Ashley, back in line! Princess, go to your room!"

The two girls glared at each other before going their separate ways. However, everyone stopped to hear Jo clear his throat.

"Actually..." the small man stared at the scarlet girl. "Ashley, was it?"

She slowly nodded, eyes shimmering with hope.

"You're coming with us."

"WHAT?!" Princess shrieked in disbelief, marching back over to the two men. "You two couldn't possibly adopt her! She's out of control! She's-"

"Princess!" Ima was glaring daggers at her. "Do I have to tell your dad that you were misbehaving?!"

She squeaked and shook her head before running down the hallway. Ima nodded once before turning to Ashley, gesturing to the two men.

The little girl smiled gleefully as the other kids said their congratulations. She was finally out of this place! Sure she had a feeling that this was her ticket out but a small portion of her told her that maybe it was just a dream. That their kind words were just them saying that it wasn't going to happen today.

She was glad that she could put those ideas to rest.

Ashley finally had a place to call home. And people to call her family.


	9. As Well as Some Others

Ashley was not happy.

She originally thought that when the men had picked her, that it was going to be only her. Just the three of them together in one house. But to her dismay, that wasn't the case.

They had sat her in Mr. Morbucks' office afterwards and told her to wait. For a second, she thought that they were going to the bathroom or something before they left. But her view completely changed when they came back with Mitch, Susie, Joey, and Clara in tow. Now she knew that this was going to be the eight of them in one house.

Joy...

Ima then began to pull the paperwork for each of the kids but told them to leave so that they could pack their things. Ashley and the other two girls headed into the direction of the girls' bedroom with some of their friends hugging them or saying goodbye as they walked.

They eventually made it upstairs and started getting some of their stray things together. They packed most of their belongings the night before in preparation for this day but they still left some things out in case they were staying or because they were needed for them to get ready for today.

Clara made the way out of the room with her baggage rather quickly and left just as fast as she came in. Because of this, Susie and Ashley turned to each other.

"Man, she was quick..." the brunette marveled.

"She probably didn't have much left to pack." the scarlet girl suggested with a small shrug.

"I guess."

The two girls finished putting their stuff away and walked down the hall. As they did, Susie decided to start another conversation.

"So...are you excited to see our new home?"

Ashley nodded, giving the other girl a small smile. It was kind of forced. "Yeah..."

Susie probably noticed the falsity of her expression because she said. "I know you were probably expect to be the only one getting adopted by those guys. I honestly thought so too but they picked three other kids including myself." she then added bitterly. "I'm upset that Mitch is going to be living with us..."

"Mitch is a pain..." she then turned to the brunette. "At least he won't be bothering Holly any more..."

Susie nodded. "But he'll be bothering us now..."

Ashley said nothing as the two of them walked downstairs. There, they noticed that their new guardians as well as the other kids were already standing there waiting for them. The taller of the two men clapped his hands together as the girls made it down the last couple of steps.

"Alright children, let's head out now~!" he chimed. "The faster we get home, the faster you all can get settled in~!"

They headed out the door and into the afternoon autumn breeze.

Ashley smiled at the change of scenery and the wind blowing her hair back. It felt so good being out of the dusty orphanage. She was finally free from that place and was very excited to see what her new life was going to look like. Their adopted parents looked wealthy and they were the ones that decided getting five kids at once was a good idea. They were probably really desperate for children or very crazy.

They walked towards a large black minivan, which the shorter of the two men opened to reveal the normal set up for the back of the vehicle. Two seats in the very front as well as three in the back. The man backed up to allow them to enter.

Mitch was the first one to climb in, sitting in one of the front seats furthest from the open door. Clara and Joey both made their way to the back as Susie went in after them, whispering to Ashley.

"Good luck with Mitch."

The scarlet haired girl frowned as she sat down in the other front seat. As she buckled herself in and the shorter man shut the door, the taller man spoke up. He was sitting in the driver's seat and adjusted the rear view mirror as he talked.

"Alright kids! Before we head home, I would like to take some time to introduce ourselves to you. I'm Mr. Him and this is my partner is Mr. Jo."

Jo climbed into the passenger seat just as he was being introduced and turned to face the children for a second. He nodded before turning to face the windshield.

"Any questions?"

Mitch's hand shot up and he blurted out. "Are you two gay?"

The adults eyed one another before Him answered. "Yes we are."

"Obviously..." Ashley muttered under her breath.

"Any other questions?"

The brunette boy spoke up once again, this time without raising his hand. "Can we get something to eat? I'm starving!"

Ashley's stomach growled softly as he asked this. She had to admit that that was a valid question. None of the kids eaten anything since last night dinner and something to eat sounded good right about now.

Him tapped a gloved hand to his chin before he shrugged. "Eh, why not? We're in no rush."

The kids (minus Ashley) cheered as the vehicle pulled out of its parking spot in front of the orphanage and headed off. The scarlet girl leaned her head against the window and smiled as their old residence got smaller and smaller before disappearing. She sighed, closing her eyes and letting the soft rumble of the engine lull her into a peaceful state of mind.

"Hey Ashley? You asleep?"

The girl grumbled as she turned around. She was greeted to Mitch grinning wickedly at her as he started pulling off his tie. She raised an eyebrow and answered sarcastically.

"Yes Mitch, I'm asleep..."

"I just wanted to tell you that what you did to Princess was cool." the boy stated, his smile turning more sincere. He then added with a shrug. "I don't know why you did it to help stupid Holly but it's whatever."

Ashley crossed her arms. "I did it because Princess thinks she can boss us around just because her dad owns the place. Also because Holly's a nice girl and she was trying to be nice to Princess even though she has been a snotty brat to everyone else." she raised an eyebrow. "Which reminds me, why were you bothering Holly?"

Mitch shrugged. "I was bored."

The girl shook her head. "That's not a viable excuse."

He raised an eyebrow.

"...you have no idea what viable means, do you?"

"Nope."

She sighed.

Ashley had to admit that being the smart girl in the orphanage was kind of a pain. She was only six years old but she knew a lot of words that most children in her age couldn't even pronounce, let alone spell or say. She was also the kid who rather fish for information through books then play around.

She was raised around literature, with her biological parents being very studious people. Her mother even let her pick out books from the library that she worked at and they just read them together. At first, the pieces of literature were children's books but as she grew, she became more interested in the news and adult books. She was able to grasp all of these older topics thanks to her parents, who died one night in a terrible car crash.

Being on top of the intellectual ladder compared her peers was rather lonesome and she wished her parents were still here so that they could take her to school. She would probably be pushed into the fourth or fifth grade thanks to her smarts.

Oh well, she couldn't change time so there was no point in even thinking like that.

Ashley just turned away from Mitch and looked out the window. He raised an eyebrow and asked.

"You aren't gonna tell me what that even means?"

"Look it up." she sighed, pressing her warm cheek against the glass, feeling the cold air from outside. "I'm sure there's a dictionary or a computer at our new house."

The brunette frowned before turning away from her.

Ashley closed her eyes and simply decided to relax once again. She let out a soft yawn as they drove through the streets of the city. She opened up her eyes and walked as people lived their normal everyday lives. Despite the fact that Townsville was crime ridden, things actually seemed relatively peaceful today. She smiled at this as they turned into a McDonald's drive-in.

Him and Jo asked the kids what they wanted, they all got their meals and drove out of there within ten minutes. The taller man then said as he was handing out the food.

"Be careful when eating in the car. I don't want to see any crumbs or garbage on the floor."

They all made a noise of consensus before enjoy their lunch. Ashley didn't even eat her food and simply sipped on her strawberry milkshake. She closed her eyes and sighed in content. They had never had anything good in the orphanage except occasional Christmas cookies from Mr. Morbucks so this was wonderful.

The car eventually drove deeper and deeper into the upper part of Townsville. There was loads of well dressed people walking through the streets, talking to each other or going into stores. Ashley's eyes widened as she noticed that the buildings were so much nicer than everything in the normal part of the city. This made her smile around her straw, glad that she was going to be staying with people who were indeed very wealthy.

After a while, they made it to a large white condo. All of the other kids gawked at the sight of the place and Mitch let out a gasp.

"Is this where we're going to live?"

Him chuckled. "Uh huh~! Home sweet home~!"

Ashley looked over and watched as Mitch started bouncing up and down ecstatically as the car slowed to a halt. Jo left the car and opened up the door closest to the girl. He let out a hand to help her down and she gladly took it, snatching up all of her things and jumping to the concrete ground. She immediately eyed the white lilies and buttercups that were right next to the house and grinned.

She then looked over to see Mitch climb out the car and and run past her, dropping all of his stuff as he looked at the large building. She turned to his things and realized that the ice from his drink had spilled on the sidewalk. She sighed as she watched the other three kids leave the vehicle and Jo close the door. She then watched the car drive off and Ashley raised an eyebrow.

Where was he going?

"Alright children, let's go inside." Jo stated. "Mitch, pick up your cup."

The boy nodded, picking up the plastic container and running up the steps. Ashley was close behind him as he opened the door and they were let into their new home.

The place was rather large with shiny marble floors that had a circle velvet rug in the middle of the foyer. There was round staircases on the left and right of the entrance that took them upstairs. There was also an entrance right by the set of steps on the left side that led into the dining and living rooms.

The man smiled as they marveled the interior of the house. He then walked closer to the children to get their attention. He then stated.

"Alright kids, go on ahead and pick out your rooms. Once you do, you can each ask how you all want to redecorate them. We're going to go shopping for that stuff as well as whatever toys you kids want tomorrow."

Everyone nodded before grabbing their things and running up the steps. Ashley was the last one to do this, moving a bit slower than her friends. Her eyes traced the white wooden railing of the staircase before looking at the chandelier that hung from the ceiling. She then thought about the process of being able to change up their rooms how they liked it and getting toys and games from the store.

All of this was too good to be true. She still felt like she was dreaming and she didn't know when she was going to wake up.

But she would soon figure out that the wake up call will be coming soon and it won't be very pleasant.


	10. Down By Two

**Sorry I've stopped posting for this story! I am technically finished up to chapter 21 now but I just need to update this story more! Sorry to keep y'all waiting! Daily uploads for this story from now on until I run out of chapters to post.**

**So enjoy!**

Ashley felt funny the following morning.

She had woken up with an aching pain in her left arm. It had felt heavy, as if she had slept on it weird. As she tried to move it around, the muscles within it started to tense and spasm. It made her clench her teeth as she examined it, trying to find out what's giving her all of this pain. She even lifted the long sleeve of her nightgown to get a better look.

Her brown eyes widened when she found the spot.

Below where her shoulder and left arm met, there was a pink bandage. She peeked underneath and noticed that small amount of black ooze leaking from the wound. The area that was supposedly infected was also partially swollen, puffing up underneath the brightly colored band aid. She wanted to readjust it but she was too scared to do anything about it.

She looked around the room to see if there was anything else wrong and spotted a magenta nightstand that wasn't there the day before. She leaned over, being carefully as to not put pressure on her injured body part before pulling at one of the drawers.

Nothing happened. It was locked.

"Kids~!" Him's voice rang out from in the hallway. "Wake up~! It's time for breakfast~!"

Ashley ignored this and went to the second drawer. She pulled at it but it was locked as well. She frowned and sat up, eyeing her wound again.

How could this have happened?

There was no way this could have developed naturally, especially since she wasn't the one who put the bandage there. And this black stuff wasn't something that the human body creates on its own. One of their caretakers must have done this while she was sleeping. But why did they do this? And what was the substance coming from her arm?

"Kids! Breakfast!" the man's voice called again, this time a little more demanding. "Get down here before it gets cold!"

Ashley listened for footsteps and didn't hear any, save for Him's heels walking away from the staircase. She slowly stepped out of bed, cradling her arm as she went. As she made her way across the room, she heard moaning as well as small footsteps from outside her room. Raising an eyebrow, she approached the entrance and opened it.

There stood Susie, who was wincing and looking at her left arm. She turned to Ashley a few seconds later and smiled weakly.

"H-hey Ashley..."

She looked pale, like she had gotten an illness overnight. Her body also seemed weak and hunched over, as if she was an injured animal. Her eyes were puffy and scrunched up and she sniffled as she turned back to the arm that wasn't close to Ashley.

The scarlet haired child tilted her head a little to get a better look at the other girl's injury but it was obscured by her body. She then made eye contact with Susie.

"Can I see your arm?"

Hesitantly, she nodded as Ashley walked around her. Her eyes widened as she saw the injury.

Susie's arm looked horrendous. Her skin around the wound was way darker than the rest of her body. Her muscles were limp and it made her arm dangle like a piece of fruit of a tree. She then looked back at the wound, where the bandage was peeling off the dying skin. The sight made Ashley's stomach churn as the hallway started to smell like a morgue.

"What happened to you...?" Ashley asked softly, turning to her own injured arm, which looked perfectly fine in retrospect.

Susie softly shrugged her good shoulder. "I dunno...I woke up and..." she clutched her stomach. "I felt sick..."

"Don't worry, we can tell Mr. Him about it." she rubbed her friend's back. "Go back to bed, alright?"

The brunette nodded and headed back into her bedroom.

Just as she did this, Mitch walked out of his room. Despite looking slightly pale and that his right arm seems swollen, he looked just fine. He headed downstairs, not even giving Ashley any sort of eye contact.

Next came Clara who, like both of the previously mentioned kids, looked sick. But she didn't behave that way. Like the brunette boy, she seemed fine. She was rubbing her swollen arm as she headed downstairs but other than that, she was okay.

As the black girl left, Ashley decided not to wait for Joey to leave his room and simply headed down the steps. Him was standing there waiting for her wearing a white loose fitting shirt, black sweatpants, and white fluffy slippers. He had his hands on his hips as his green eyes glared down at the little girl.

"Took you kids long enough." he grumbled as Ashley stood in line with the two other kids in the middle of the foyer. "You were about to make me late for my workout." he glanced up the stairs then back at the children. "I could've sworn there was two more of you."

"There is." Clara said.

Ashley nodded and added. "Susie and Joey are still upstairs. Susie's also sick and we were all prodded with needles!"

Him raised an eyebrow before making a sudden realization. He them smiled reassuringly. "Ooooh that~! Don't worry your cute lil' heads about that~! Jo just had a vaccine he wanted you kids to take before entering our home."

The redhead's brown eyes narrowed. "What was in it? It's getting us sick."

"Nothing." he answered firmly. He then stated. "Now, it's 9:36 and I'll be back from my workout at noon. Jo's still here but he's kind of busy so don't bother him. There's pancakes, bacon, and eggs at the table and if you want anything else, there's snacks in the pantry. Don't sit in the living room with your snacks and if you do, make sure it isn't anything sticky and clean up after yourselves. I'll be ba-"

"Wait! What about Susie?!"

Him blinked and turned to Ashley. "Jo told me that if anything happens while under the vaccination, just sleep it off." he patted her on the head. "She'll be fine."

He softly kissed all three of the kids on the forehead before heading out the door. He gave them a jovial wave before closing the door.

Mitch smiled before running off. "Race you girls to the kitchen! Last one there has to give the winner their pancakes!"

Clara giggled and she was about to run off but turned to see Ashley made her way up the stairs. She raised an eyebrow. "Where are you going?"

The scarlet girl turned to see the other female before her eyes returned to the upper steps. She then began walking up them while replying. "I'm gonna go check on Susie and Joey. Could you make sure Mitch doesn't eat my breakfast?"

The black girl looked a little hesitant but nodded. "I'll try but I doubt he'll listen."

Ashley nodded in thanks before walking up the steps.

* * *

Ashley opened the door to see a large lump laying in Susie's bed.

When she had swung the door open though, the smell of decay was strong. She covered her nose and gagged as she moved into the bedroom. She immediately made her way to Susie's bed and noticed that she had covered herself with the covers, as if she was trying to hide herself from the chilly temperature of the space.

"S-Susie..." she mumbled softly. "Are you alright?"

"...My arm..." Susie said weakly. "Hurts..."

With a shaky hand, Ashley pulled the covers off and saw Susie's arm. She quickly backed up from the sight, almost ready to vomit stomach acid.

Her arm was tensing and seizing all on its own. Even though it was moving rapidly, it looked like it belonged to a dead person. The skin of it was decaying at a rapid rate. Susie sat up and adjusted the covers off of her. There was a black substance oozing from her small pores as well as her eyes and nose.

She stared at Ashley and the girl stared back with shock and horror on her features. Susie said nothing as the two simply stared at each other. Soon, the brunette's bright blue eyes rolled towards the back of her head and her whole body started seizing.

"Susie!" the other child cried, running over to her friend as she shook against the mattress. "Susie! I'm gonna go get help!"

Ashley ran out of the room and down the steps. Everything was a blur to her, she had to get to an adult. Or a phone. She stopped in the dining room, where she was greeted to Mitch and Clara. They turned to her as she asked rather loudly.

"Susie's hurt! Where's Mr. Jo?!"

They both had varied amounts of concern on their faces. Clara gasped mid-chew, not even bothering to swallow her meal. Mitch's face showed worry but he continued to eat. The boy shrugged.

"No clue..." he replied.

"Maybe he's upstairs-"

"Alright, who's running?!"

The children turned to the door behind the dining room table that Ashley thought was the pantry. Standing there was Jo, who was wearing a long lab coat and black boots. A look of annoyance was on his face as he stared at the trio of children.

Jo had opened his mouth to reiterate but Mitch pointed to Ashley, who immediately shouted.

"Mr. Jo! You need to come upstairs! Susie is dying!"

The room went dead silent, save for the scarlet girl's panting. Jo, Mitch, and Clara's eyes widened as the two previously mentioned children looked at each other. The man looked to the ground then stared Ashley dead in the eye.

What he said made the hair on the kids' necks stand on edge. "I...I think she's already dead."

Silence fell over the kids again. Clara pushed her breakfast away from her and pried her glasses off her face. Tears welled up in her eyes as she plopped her arms and head on the table. She then started sobbing. Mitch nibbled on the edge of his pancake and looked at his plate.

Ashley was furious.

"What do you mean she's dead?!" she had tears welling up in her eyes as she clenched her teeth. "We need to save her! I was just with her!"

"She's dead." Jo said simply in a cold and serious tone. "There's surveillance all over the house. I saw everything."

Ashley and Mitch looked up in the corner of the room closest to the dining room table and saw a small red light flash against the small section of the ceiling it was close to. That was in fact a camera.

This made the scarlet girl's blood boil. She was more upset now than she was already. She turned back to Jo and was about to say something but Jo cut her off.

"Yep, she's dead." he turned to Ashley. "Joey died a couple of hours before."

Clara's cries got slightly louder.

"But it's fine." he embraced the children gingerly. "Because you three are alright."

At that moment, Ashley wished she was back in the orphanage.

She wished that she was scrubbing the floors until they sparkled. She wished she could just hear all of the other kids yelling and screaming and playing while she read her books. She wish she can have 4 or 5 PM bedtimes every night they didn't have dinner. She wished that she could just rewind time and tell these guys to leave the orphanage.

Because if she had done that, her life would go right back to the way it was supposed to be. She would go back to being the weird, smart girl at the orphanage. The girl with all of the questions and all of the answers. The girl who would stand up for other kids when they couldn't do it for themselves. The girl who was considered a hero to all of the orphaned children.

But now she was here. And not only was she separated from most of the kids she had grown up with but now, two of them had died in the hands of their caretaker.

And he didn't even care.

**Chapter 11 will be posted right after this one! Stay tuned!**


	11. Changes

**Double upload! :D**

The kids did not want to leave the house.

The thought seemed apparent to Jo after he had told them that Susie and Joey had died. He was really unfazed by all of this, as he was with any sort of experimentation. These tests were done to see what the chemical's effects were and its limitations. These kids were simply lab rats in his eyes, nothing more.

The children thought differently. Those kids upstairs were people that they must have known for years. People that they have loved, cherished and trusted. People that had names and faces and personalities. People that were like family to them.

And now they were gone. _He_ was the one to take them away from them.

Clara had been sobbing for minutes. The table, her arms, her face, all of those areas were stained with her grief. Her tears. After a while, she had lifted her head up towards the sky, wailing and bawling her eyes out. Her glasses laid abandoned as she wept.

Mitch was quiet. He continued to eat his food slowly. Jo remembered when the boy ate in the car. He was loud with it, a big goofy grin on his face while he did it. It was messy but he didn't care. Now, he was dead silent. He ate his pancakes as if he was eating brussel sprouts, taking a little and putting it in his mouth. Hoping that by doing so, it'll remove some of its taste. A lone tear slid down his cheek but he quickly wiped it away. He was just as distraught as Clara.

Ashley was upset, more mad than sad. Tears rolled down her face in waves as she cried. But she barely made any noise. No sobs, wails, nothing. Her lips were clenched together as she sat on the floor, her hands in her lap as she seemed to be thinking about something. She sniffled from time to time but that was all the noise she made.

Jo knew they wanted to grieve properly, so shopping could be on hold for another day.

"Go upstairs children." he said quickly and monotonously. "I'll call you down when it's time for dinner."

They nodded and started to walk out. Clara grabbed her glasses as she and the others left the room. As they went, Jo added.

"And I would advise not going into Joey or Susie's rooms. It's...too horrible to look at them now."

They nodded again almost simultaneously before heading out completely. He listened as their footsteps bounced off the house's walls and soon, they were drowned out by closing doors.

Jo then looked at the table of food before cleaning up.

* * *

Ashley was more confused than anything.

She had moved to her bathroom, sitting herself on top of the marble sink. The mentioned furniture was pretty big so there was enough space for her to stand without knocking anything down.

She had looked herself over.

The first thing she had noticed was that the swelling in her arm had reduced significantly. Her skin was paler than it usually was but her eyes had changed from brown to a bright pink. The sight startled her at first but she got used to it somewhat quickly.

She had to adapt to change. She had a feeling there was going to be a lot of it in this house.

Other things that was different was that she was stronger. She realized that she was able to jump onto the sink without any help from a stepstool. Looking at herself, she also noticed that her muscles were started to buff up a little on her tiny body. It wasn't a lot but it was enough to make her look more defined.

She stroked a hand through her hair and also noticed that her hair had brightened, giving off a more orange tint. It was really pretty to look at, it reminded her of orange candies. She stared at her new self and smiled a little.

She had to get used to herself now.

As Ashley jumped down from the sink, she could hear the whirling of the camera turning to her. She did a one-eighty and realized that the machine was in fact following her. She didn't let it hold her attention for long, turning and leaving the bathroom.

She then headed to her bed to think of the day's events.

Joey and Susie were dead. There was no doubt about that.

Ashley shook her head after a while. Images of the two kids' decaying corpses had flashed into her mind not too long into her thinking. She could feel herself breaking down, tears started to come back into her eyes. But she pushed them away and squeezed her eyes shut.

"No more crying." she muttered to herself. "You cried earlier, you don't need to cry anymore."

Death wasn't new to Ashley. Her parents had died, she had read stories of people dying, she would look at the newspaper with her dad and hear about the newest murders in Townsville. But what was new about this occasion that differed from all of those times before was that she witnessed it firsthand. And she tried to do something.

But her caretaker decided to do nothing.

Maybe she should've taken action. Maybe she should've done something. If she did, maybe Susie would've lived. Joey died before they had woken up but one person dying would've been better than losing two.

Ashley's eyes suddenly lit up as an idea came to mind. She should call the police! These two guys were more than likely criminals out to kill children! Sure, they were nice at the start but they were probably trying to lure them into a false sense of security.

She had to find a phone.

She slipped out of bed and stepped into the hallway. Once she did, she started scanning the walls and rooms for telephones. Not finding anything, she started to head downstairs. But she halted when she heard voices. She couldn't see anyone in the kitchen but wherever they were coming from, she could hear them clear as day.

"What? Already?" it was Mr. Him. It must have been past noon by now. "Geez, these kids must have some weak immune systems…"

"They do seem malnourished…" Mr. Jo noted, seemingly reading from something. "I did make a note of that for later. We need to fatten them up a bit more so they could build strength."

Him gasped excitedly. "I know! We can have a feast tonight! I'll buy the kids whatever they want for dinner and they can eat until their stomachs explode!"

"Good idea…I'll run more tests another day."

"Right. I'll go talk to them now."

"Alright. But if there are any that look even the slightest bit weak, let me know. I'm going to have to give them blood transfusions."

Ashley squeaked, dashing upstairs and slowly closing the door to her room. Once she got there, she dashed into the bathroom and pretended to wash her hands. She had to calm down, Him would be here any second.

She had to breathe.

"Ashley~!" Him called from the bedroom door. "We're having a feast for dinner. Is there any specific you would like~?"

"Uh...Chinese please." the thought of lo mein and fried rice made her mouth water. "And shrimp."

"Will do~!"

Ashley could hear his heels leaving her doorway and she sighed in relief. She then turned off the running water and got situated on her bed.

She was stuck here for the time being.


	12. Adapt

Ashley stayed awake that night.

The kids were given a bunch of food for dinner and were told to eat until they were full. Granted, the children had lost their close friends and didn't really feel like eating too much. So they ate until they were somewhat satisfied before heading to bed. Mitch stayed downstairs though since Jo noticed that the boy was looking slightly ill.

So Ashley and Clara went to their rooms and stayed there until the next day. The former was alert, even though the food made her feel sleepy.

She wanted to see if anyone who come into her room in the dead of night. She made sure she was perfectly still and only moved to slightly change her positioning on the mattress. Other than that, she behaved as if she had drifted off. Her eyes stayed on the door in case it opened.

And it did at one in the morning.

Ashley noticed this and shut her eyes tight. Her body was rigid, her back against the bed and her face directed towards the ceiling. She didn't make much noise, she didn't even breathe. She was dreadfully nervous and scared. What was he going to do to her?

"I know you're awake..."

Her eyes widened as she sat up in the bed. She had stared at the space beside her mattress where the voice was coming from. She was met with the tired black eyes of Jo.

He gave her a knowing look and she noticed that he was holding a blood bag with a tube connected to it. A needle was at the very end of it. He stared down at it as well and looked back up at her with stoic eyes.

"I'm giving you a blood transfusion." Jo stated.

"I...I know what that is." she replied.

He nodded once, a small smile on his face. "I had a feeling you did."

The two stayed silent for a time. Jo hooked up the blood bag to Ashley and she watched with bated breath as the IV entered her skin. After it was done, she let out a sigh of relief before looking over to Jo, who was on the other side of the bed next to the locked nightstand.

"I'll be back in an hour to check on you, should you still be awake."

"M-Mr. Jo...?"

He turned to the girl, not saying a word. She then asked.

"Can...can I know why you're doing this to us?"

Jo stared at the wooden floor. He then looked at the girl in bed with emotionless eyes. He simply shrugged.

"It's all part of the experiment. You may be a smart girl but I doubt you'll understand this."

He then left, leaving Ashley alone again.

* * *

"Psst, Ashley?"

The kids had been downstairs for breakfast. Clara ate quietly, her eyes droopy and sleep ridden. She took in every bit of cereal with the amount of vigor a gazelle would have when its about to be eaten by a lion. She had zero energy. Mitch and Ashley were a bit more lively. Sure, they were still upset about their two friends dying but they pressed on anyway.

There was no point in being upset about something they couldn't change.

Ashley had been eating until her name was whispered to her. She turned and her pink eyes met Mitch's teal ones. They had been black before the experiments started.

"What?" she asked him.

"Have ya seen Mr. Jo?"

Ashley tapped her chin.

She had seen Mr. Him just this morning when he called them down for breakfast before going to his workout session. She had seen Mr. Jo last night but she doubt that was what Mitch was referring to. He was probably talking about recently. As in this morning.

"No. He's probably in the basement." she said. Then added. "Why'd you ask?"

Mitch shrugged. "Just curious..."

"I wanna go back to the orphanage..."

Ashley and Mitch turned their heads to see Clara crying into her cereal. She took off her glasses to wipe her face. She sniffled, her lavender eyes staring up at her adopted siblings with a depressing look.

"If we weren't adopted, then we would all be okay. We wouldn't be poked with needles and...Susie and Joey wouldn't have died..."

Mitch rolled his eyes. "Get over it Clara. There's nothing we can do about our situation."

Ashley nodded a little. "Trust me, I'm not happy about this one bit but...Mitch does have a point. We shouldn't be moping around."

"B-but they died yesterday!" Clara cried. "H-how can you two be so cruel?!"

"We're not saying we don't care about them! We're saying that we should just deal with ourselves for now. We can give them a proper burial when we get out of here."

"If you two even make it out of here alive..." Mitch muttered, gulping down his milk.

The girls turned to the boy, a look of shock on both of their faces. Clara's looked more like one of horror while Ashley's was more of anger.

"...what?!" Ashley asked, gritting her teeth as her pupils slowly dilated.

"You two are girls." Mitch stated. "I doubt you two would even make it out of her a-"

He was swiftly interrupted when a red beam of light scratched his cheek and appeared in front of him, knocking him back. He screamed in pain as he was attacked. As it ended, he turned to where the light was coming from with shock in his eyes.

It was from Ashley.

The redhead blinked as it was over and noticed the burnt skin and blood on Mitch's face before realizing that it had came from her. She covered her mouth in shock before glancing over at Clara's shocked face.

"What is going on up there?!"

The trio turned towards the door to the basement and realized that Ashley had not only hit Mitch but she had also made a tiny hole in the white wall. There was a bit of drywall on the floor as well as burnt spots of the wall itself, but nothing too severe.

Jo had bolted upstairs to see what was going on and noticed all of the damages. A bright grin appeared on his face as he ran downstairs. He came back with a clipboard and started writing things down. He smiled in satisfaction once he had finished.

"Now, which one of you did it?"

Clara pointed to Ashley as Mitch covered his injured cheek. The latter frowned and was about to apologize when Jo piped.

"Amazing! I mean, I already saw this in the lab rats months ago but you're the first person to do that!" he then started rambling, writing down more notes. "Incredible..."

Ashley frowned as Mitch exclaimed. "What about my cheek?"

"The first aid kit's upstairs. You can put it on yourself..." he mumbled.

The boy quickly ran upstairs, his face leaking blood with every step he made. Once Jo had finished writing, he looked at the trail of blood and added.

"Clara, clean that up."

She frowned but complied.

"In an hour, I want you kids to head to the workout room upstairs." Jo stated as Clara grabbed paper towels. "Last room on the right. Wear something you don't mind sweating in."

Ashley nodded, glancing at Clara before looking upstairs.

She had her doubts that what they were going to do was something pleasant but she was ready nonetheless. She wanted to prove to Mitch that she could hold her own in this situation. She wanted to show Mr. Jo that she could adapt to whatever kind of training the kids were about to endure, no matter how taxing it'll be on her body.

She was smart but she was also stronger than normal little girls her age. Sure, it was mostly thanks to the serum but she had her own muscle as well. But whatever was about to happen now, she had to endure it.

She will survive, even if it was the last thing she'll ever do.


	13. Back with the Orphans

Holly wished Mitch was still in the orphanage.

Initially, she was so relieved to see that he was leaving. Sure the other girls that went with him would have to deal with him, but she wouldn't have to and she was happy with that. Now, she wished he was here.

She wished Joey was still in the orphanage too.

Holly was so happy that Joey got adopted. He was a nice boy and he deserved all of the good things in the world. He would always find ways to get Octi from Mitch and she couldn't be more grateful for him. She wished he could be here to make her smile.

She also wished Ashley was here. Then Princess wouldn't be messing with everyone.

After Ashley and the others left, things got a little darker in the orphanage. Most things were the same like the kids being unable to eat on some nights or scrubbing the orphanage top to bottom if the kids were being too rowdy. However, the only things that really changed was Princess' behavior and Ima's presence.

Princess was more of a ruler over the children in a sense, practically taking Ima's place. She didn't cook like Ima did but she bossed the kids around like her. She would treat the orphans like slaves, telling them to go fetch her things or take her around the house. They were always forced to comply or Princess would beat them with a whip that she had found with her father's antiques.

Today was no different.

The kids woke up to Princess screaming at Ima at six in the morning. She was forcing the lady to hurry up and make breakfast how she liked it. By the smell, the kids hoped that the maple scented bacon, scrambled eggs and pancakes were going to be for them. Sadly, they were stuck eating burnt oatmeal and watching the redhead eat all of the good food.

Then the middle of the day rolled around. The kids had been doing their normal things, either engaging in conversation with their friends, playing or sticking to themselves. It was a cloudy day outside and the children had been forced to get a bit of fresh air. And they weren't allowed back inside until dinner was ready.

_"But what if it rains?"_ one of the girls had asked.

_"You'll manage._" Princess answered before slamming the door shut.

It was right after breakfast, eleven AM, when they told to exit the house. It was now one in the afternoon and the children were slowly starting to lose their energy. They started to gather by the steps as rain started to pour down on the world.

"I'm starving!" Jaiden moaned, her white sneakers darkened with mud and age. They got even dirtier as she stamped her foot on the ground. "I hope Mitch's having a fun time being some rich couple's son...!"

"Yeah..." Harry muttered, looking at the mud puddles with interest. "I'm sure they have a big backyard..."

"And a huge feast for lunch!"

"I wanna go back inside..." Robin muttered, hugging Holly while shivering.

The blonde nodded. "Me too...I'm cold..."

"You heard Princess." Jaiden crossed her arms. "We're not allowed back in unless we're dead or dinner's ready."

The kids sat in silence for a little while longer, watching the rain as it pours. Soon, what the kids thought was just a simple drizzle soon became a thunderstorm. Droplets were dense and created huge splatters with every one that fell on the concrete. Small amounts of thunder and lightning were heard and seen.

Jaiden and a handful of boys immediately started banging on the door as the girls started crying and screaming. After a while, Ima let them inside.

* * *

The kids have been seeing less people in the orphanage everyday.

Mr. Morbucks was a greedy bastard and tend to keep a lot of money to himself. However, it wasn't often when you see majority of the caretakers within the orphanage leaving with bags of money. They got taxis and relatives to pick them up and like that, they were gone. Five different ladies from different areas of the city had vanished.

They didn't make that much of an impact within the orphanage anyway. Sure they helped keep the kids in line but they were just as mean as Ima and Princess. Regardless, life went on and things stayed relatively the same.

Holly and Robin along with a handful of other kids were watching TV when Jaiden came in. She had an annoyed look on her face.

Holly turned to Jaiden with a raised eyebrow. "What's wrong?"

"Did you guys see that new lady that came in earlier?"

Robin nodded and tapped her chin. "Yeah...what was her name?"

"Doesn't matter! She's coming back tomorrow!"

"I don't see the problem with her." Holly said, remembering the lady in her mind.

The woman was a round one with chubby cheeks and a nice smile. She had short black hair and big blue eyes filled with kindness and love. Holly remembered clear as day when she came in from the rain. She shook her umbrella outside before turning to the blonde, who had been playing with Octi on the floor.

"_Hello there sweetheart."_ her voice had been kind and gentle. Not the least bit snarky or sarcastic. "_I'm looking for Mr. Morbucks. Could you take me to him?"_

She had nodded and walked her there herself. She even said thank you and gave her a piece of chocolate. No one mean has even given her candy!

The blonde nodded, returning to reality. "She seemed nice."

"Probably trying to put you in a false sense of security…" Jaiden muttered, arms crossed. "She's gonna be just as much of a bitch as Ima and Princess, just watch."

"Jaiden! Watch your mouth!" Robin exclaimed.

"Or else what? You'll tell?"

"N-no but...just because the adults curse doesn't mean we should!"

"Does it really matter Robin?!" Jaiden snapped. "Because if you care so much, then why don't you just be a snitch!"

"What's with all the yelling in here?!"

The kids turned to see Princess walking into the living room with a long nightgown and a face mask on. She glared at everyone in the room before her eyes turned to Jaiden as she yelled.

"Can't you see that I'M TRYING TO SLEEP!?"

"Sorry…" Jaiden muttered, eyes on the floor.

"Sorry...what?"

"Sorry Princess…" she said through gritted teeth.

Princess grinned wickedly, patting Jaiden on the head like a dog. "That's better. Now, I want one of you losers to wake me up when it's dinnertime. Not before, not after. Understand?"

Jaiden had been mocking her silently, facing away from the redhead and causing the boys in the room to chuckle. They all nodded to Princess in agreement before she left.

Once she was gone, Jaiden's jade eyes darkened. "Stupid Princess. She's lucky she's fucking rich but when I see her begging on the streets someday, I'm gonna step on her fingers until they bleed."

Holly covered her mouth as Robin gasped. "Jaiden!"

"What?!"


	14. Final Test

There hadn't been a day when they weren't training.

Everyday, no matter the weather, the kids would have to wake up at five in the morning. They would eat a small breakfast and forced to move everyday. The workout room was filled with different equipment and Mr. Jo instructed that they use it all. Even though some of them were too big for the six year olds, they did their best to work around the height disadvantage.

They lifted weights, rode on the elliptical, ran around the house with heavy appliances on their backs, along with an assortment of different exercises. All of this in the span of one day was harmful even for an adult. Putting all of this pressure on a child was something much worse, if not deadly.

But regardless, the kids pressed on.

From the beginning, Ashley continued to push herself. She did everything that was expected of her, no questions asked. Sure she would mess up from time and time, she wasn't perfect. But she would get up and keep going.

Mitch and Clara were a little less quiet about their curiosities but they still manage to stay strong throughout the training.

Jo was impressed by their limits. He would keep giving them doses of Chemical X as well as blood transfusions whenever he thought they needed them. He would notice that the trio were like adult athletes, strong and diligent. Sure, Clara was still bothersome with her whining but all of them manage to hold up amongst each other.

Jo knew that he had to do one final test.

"But what should it be?"

Jo and Him had been together late at night. While the former had been skimming through his notes, the latter was eating some spaghetti he had made for dinner. They were at the dining room table in front of one another and stayed relatively silent until the question popped up.

"What do you mean?" Him asked, popping a meatball in his mouth.

"The kids." Jo stated. "I...don't think I'm done with them."

The taller man crossed his legs under the table, chewing his food and tilting his head. Once he swallowed, he asked. "Not done?"

"No…" Jo stood up, pacing around the room. "I feel like I need more."

"More kids?"

He slowly nodded.

"Well then," Him nodded. "If you think you need more kids, I don't mind. But what about the ones we already have?"

"That's the issue. They're all pushing themselves but I feel like only one of them is showcasing their true potential."

"Who?"

"...You know who."

"Right, so how are you gonna single them out?"

"That's the issue." Jo sighed. "I don't know."

Him crossed his arms as he thought.

Jo needed something as a final test. Something that would push the kids to their limit. Something...interesting.

Him's bright green eyes sparkled. He turned to Jo with a look of wicked excitement. He then slammed his fists on the table with an elated grin, causing his plate to leap into the air and Jo to shriek.

"A tournament!" Him exclaimed.

Jo raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"Pin the kids against each other! Make them _kill_ each other! It's the best way to get rid of the weak ones and leave the strongest alive."

Jo thought about it a little bit, tapping the side of his head lightly with his pen before smiling brightly. "Brilliant! That's a great idea, why didn't I think of that?"

"Maybe because you haven't slept in weeks and all you've been thinking about is these kids."

Jo blushed, eyes lowered. "Yeah...I guess you're right."

"You should sleep in and relax." Him grabbed his hand with his own. "I can take care of the kids tomorrow."

Jo blinked, raising an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

The shorter man smiled warmly, hugging his roommate. "Oh Him, what would I do without you?"

"I don't know dear, I don't know."

The two stayed with each other for a little while longer, talking about their days and embracing their time together. Soon, it was the dead of night and they went their separate ways.

Little did they know that a certain pink eyed girl was listening to their entire conversation.

* * *

"Kids! Time to get up! Breakfast is ready!"

Ashley ran downstairs first when Him called. Her long hair was tied in a ponytail, held together with a scrunchie. She was also wearing a gray sweatsuit and matching sneakers. It was her usual training outfit.

Once she got there, her eyes widened. At the dining room table was an assortment of different foods. Pancakes, waffles, eggs, bacon, sausages, crepes, biscuits, cinnamon buns, yogurt, anything that was breakfast related was on that very table. Ashley's mouth watered at all of the food. There was so many options!

"Woah!" Mitch exclaimed as he and Clara ran around Ashley to get to the meal. "Look at all of this food! Is it all for us?!"

Him nodded. "Indeed. Eat as much as you want but don't get too stuffed, you kids still have training today."

"Where Mr. Jo?" Clara asked.

"He's resting. It's _my_ training day today!"

Mitch blinked, midway through chomping down a pancake. Ashley nodded knowingly, enjoying some yogurt.

Mr. Him nodded again. "So, once you're done, follow me through this door."

He opened the basement door and gestured to it before walking through it. The kids watched him before turning to one another.

Ashley finished the last bit of her yogurt before walking towards the door. She had mentally prepared for this when she heard Him and Jo talking about it the following night. Sure, she was scared, she had been shaking with every step.

But she was strong. She had to adapt.

"What? You're leaving already?" Mitch asked. "You barely ate anything!"

Ashley knew she was still hungry. But if she was full, she wouldn't be able to properly enjoy herself after the fight was over. She didn't say anything to the brunette, staring down into the darkness of the staircase.

Mitch scoffed. "Alright then, don't answer me!" he stuffed a couple of sausages in his mouth before running past Ashley to get downstairs. "See ya down there!"

"I'm gonna go too." Clara agreed, jumping down from her chair and heading downstairs. "Come on Ashley."

Ashley let out a sigh through her nose. She had time to mentally prepare herself last night. She shouldn't be nervous now! She breathed in and out one more time before nodding, walking downstairs with Clara.


	15. The Dome Pt 1 of 2

**Little warning that this chapter has a lot of violence and gore in it. If you are squeamish, you mind want to skip this and the next chapter. Also, because of this chapter and chapters in the future, I might change this story's rating to M. Let me know what you think of that in a review.**

**With that said, enjoy!**

Ashley was told to close the basement door behind her as she and Clara walked down the steps. She did it without question and the two girls made their way down to see what truly was hidden below their home.

Beside a small section of wooden boards close to the staircase, the floor was carved into a circle to make room for a huge dome. The item itself was metal around the base that extends from the floor. To create the dome itself was glass that was somewhat dusty but still shone against the dim lighting of the room.

Ashley had looked over and noticed that not only was Mitch already inside the dome but Him was holding the door open, gesturing for the girls to enter as well. His curves stuck within the shadows, clinging onto him like tape. The only things that stood out were his sinister green eyes and sharp jaw.

"Come on girls~!" he chimed. Ashley could feel the hairs throughout her entire body standing on end. "Go on~!"

Clara nodded and gulped, stepping inside with Ashley a little way behind. Him then sealed it closed.

Ashley stood away from both of the other kids, her eyes focused on Him. She already knew what was coming. She just wanted to see how the others were going to react.

Him stared back at those pink eyes before shifting to his dusty reflection on the dome's surface. He then crossed his arms and smiled widely. But it wasn't out of glee, more like curiosity and a hint of amusement.

"Now kids, what I want you to do today is simple. A chore really." he hummed, pacing around the outer rim of the dome. Once he reached the stairs for the second time, he stopped and stared at the kids themselves.

There was nothing there but interest. Ashley knew why. He wanted to see who was going to make it out. But it seemed like he knew who was going to win this fight. Who was the creme of the crop. Who he was betting on to take it all.

His eyes darted to Ashley. Only for a moment.

He then headed back to the center of the dome, right by the door.

"It's so easy even a baby could do it. Unintentionally." he nodded. "Yes, what I want you three to do is fight one another."

"Oh that's easy!" Mitch piped. "I use to beat up puny girls all the time at the orphanage!"

"No you wouldn't!" Clara snapped back. "Pulling our hair and taking stuffed animals is not beating us up!"

"I do more than that! Jaiden can...c-can…" he turned to the redhead, looking slightly confused. "what's the word Ashley?"

"Vouch." she answered immediately.

"Yeah! That! Jaiden can _vouch_ for me! Thanks Ash."

Him chuckled a little. "How precious~! You kids helping each other~!"

Ashley couldn't tell if he was being honest or sarcastic. Either way, his tone was very sweet but not too overwhelming. It had to be sarcasm, right?

"Now then," Him stated, hands behind his back. "let me finish my instructions so we can get on with this."

"But didn't you say you want us to fight each other?" Mitch asked.

"Yes, yes I did but I wasn't finished." the man's smile grew into something wicked, something sinister that Ashley had no name for. It was so full of venom that just looking at it made her sick. "I want you kids to fight...to the death."

"W-what…?!" Clara squeaked as Mitch's eyes widened.

"Yes yes, you wanna be on the top of the food chain, don't cha?" he started to chuckle again, this time sounding more wicked. "Then kill each other! You kids have been training with one another for so long, months! Then put your skills to the test and kill each other!"

Him's eyes looked crazed and slightly distant. If Ashley didn't know better, she thought she saw a demon within the man. He looked disconnected, especially with the lighting. It was as if bits and pieces of him were submerged in darkness and it was ready to engulf him.

She shook her head before staring straight. Now wasn't the time to be dwelling on things outside of the dome. No, this wasn't just a dome. It was a battlefield. She was going to war against two people that she had considered siblings. That _were_ her siblings.

And now, she had to kill them.

Clara's eyes widened incredulously. It almost looked as though her big purple eyes were going to fall out of her skull. She was the closest to the door and she ran for it, her eyes welling up with tears.

"N-no!" she sobbed, banging on the door. "No! No no no no no! I don't wanna kill them! They're my friends! T-they're my family!"

Ashley and Mitch continued to watch her scream and sob. It almost sounded inhuman, seeing her beg and cry for her life.

This was not something children should be doing. Children shouldn't be pegged against one another, forced to kill each other. Children shouldn't be injected with unknown chemicals and blood just to keep them alive. Children shouldn't be put in this situation by the people they were told were their new parents.

And yet, here they were and it was happening whether they liked it or not.

Clara screamed, banging against the glass door profusely. It didn't break, it didn't shatter. It stayed strong as she banged against it with all of her superhuman strength. After awhile, her clenched fist slid against the surface and she sobbed.

"...l-let us out of here p-please…" she said through sniffles and sobs. She stared up at Mr. Him. "W-whatever we did, we're sorry! W-we'll be good from n-now on! We promise!"

Him stared at Clara with a look of bewilderment. He blinked a couple of times before going into hysterics, laughing like a maniac. Mitch and Ashley watched this, the former looking confused while the latter simply stared.

"What's so…?"

"You really think you kids are going through all of this because you were bad!?" he snickered. "Ah, that is hilarious! I wish Jo was down here to see the look on your face!"

He slammed his hands against the dome, scaring Clara and causing the other kids to jump a little.

"You're doing this because it's what Jo wants to see. You're doing this because I'm curious on where he wants to take this. All you kids are are our little guinea pigs. Our test subjects, our lab rats. Do as we tell you, and you'll be rewarded with the necessities. If you don't, Jo will just cut you off."

"C-cut us-"

"He'll stop giving us blood." Ashley stated, cutting Clara off. "And then we'll die just like Susie and Joey."

Him beamed at the redhead. "My my, so smart~! You deserve a sticker as soon as you take down these two weaklings~!"

"Two?!" Mitch gritted his teeth. "I'm no weakling!"

Green eyes shifted towards teal ones. "Really?"

"Yeah! I can fight! I can fight real good."

Him backed up from the door, amusement and interest in his body language. "Then show me. Kill Clara."

Clara blinked. "Huh?"

"Alright!"

Mitch's eyes dilated, becoming crazed as he lunged towards Clara. The girl was frozen with fear for a brief second before running away. The brunette quickly followed her around the dome, the black girl screaming and crying all the way.

"Get away from me! Get away from me!" Clara screamed like an animal at death's door. Her eyes shifted to Ashley and she reached out. "Ashley! Help me!"

Ashley did nothing, her eyes simply staring ahead. She didn't look at Mitch, she didn't look at Clara, she didn't even look at Him. She stayed vigilant. She remained emotionless.

Clara realized this and stopped running for a millisecond. That small window of time was enough for Mitch to headbutt her from the air, directly into her back. Her eyes widened as she crashed to the ground, tumbling and rolling on herself until she was back against the dome, inches from where she was a minute ago.

Her glasses had smashed in her fall and the glass from it got into her eyes. She screamed and wailed from the pain, blood seeping from her eyes like tears. Her body had been fine other than minor scratches and bruises. Her eyes were the only thing holding her back from fighting.

And this was the perfect opportunity for Mitch to strike.

He landed on the ground on his feet and took a running start towards her. She began pulling the glass out of her eyes and opening them to see even though it hurt. All she saw was red as she was suckerpunched in the face.

Clara screamed and cried as she was punched and kicked by Mitch.

All of the kids were strong and powerful thanks to the serum. But all it took was strategy and quick thinking to kill someone, Along with lots and lots of force. And Mitch, being the boy that he was from the start, had a slight advantage in the force department.

And it was plain to see.

Each punch to the face was bringing Clara closer to death. Each kick making the sounds of bones being shattered apparent to Him and Ashley. The blood started to flow like a waterfall, circling around the child being killed and the kid doing the damage.

Clara died as soon as those blows crushed her brain. Mitch kept hitting her face, every attack making a crater form within it. Her eyes, tongue and teeth were pressed up against the back of her skull, becoming mush in the process. Her blood suddenly started turned darker, mixing with the Chemical X that had entered her system and it soon made her blood black.

Him watched in twisted amazement as Mitch backed up to survey the damage of what he had done. Clara's body went completely limp, sliding around a little in the mess of fluids. The boy was also covered in the blood and X, his eyes looked crazed and dead. He stared down at his work with an insane grin on his face before his eyes shifted to Him.

He then said with that twisted smile. "I...I did it...I killed her…" fat tears fell down his face and he didn't wipe them away. He just kept grinning as he sobbed. "Is-is this what you wanted? Are you...are you happy?"

Him nodded once before shifting to Ashley. He grinned at her and her frown tightened. As he looked back down at the crying boy, he answered him. "Yes yes Mitch, you did a very good job killing Clara. Your Daddy is very happy~!"

Ashley felt sick hearing that word. That man will never be her father. Her father died years ago.

"But do you know what would make me happier?"

The man pointed a sharp nail at Ashley and she looked around it. Him let a small laugh slip as he answered his own question.

"If you killed Ashley too." he pressed a hand against the glass hovering above the boy's head. "Won't you do that for Daddy? Then I can get you all cleaned up and we'll do whatever you want for the rest of the day. How does that sound~?"

Mitch nodded once and turned. He harshly wiped his eyes free of tears and snorted up the snot running down his face. He spat it on Clara's corpse before he grinned crazily.

"Ash~!" he chimed, eyes wild. "You won't mind if I killed ya, right?"

Ashley said nothing, putting herself in a fighting stance. Her body shook but her eyes were filled with determination.

She was not just a dumb girl. She was not just some bookworm. She was not a stepping stool for Mitch to crush under his feet. She was not going to die. Not now, not ever.

She was going to live.

**TL;DR: Clara is dead and Ashley is now up against Mitch.**


	16. The Dome Pt 2 of 2

**Warning once again for violence and gore!**

"Bring it."

Ashley let the words come out of her mouth. She saw Mitch's pupils dilate before making a running start towards her. She bent her knees, bringing her body close to the ground before springing into the air.

The boy gritted his teeth, staring up at her as she said. "Just because I said it, doesn't mean I'm gonna let you go easy on me."

"A very interesting fight indeed~!" Him chimed. "I wish Jo was here to watch~!"

Mitch growled, springing up from where Ashley was floating. She slid out of the way before he could hit her and flew away. He followed quickly behind her, punching and kicking in her direction. She swiftly avoided every attack before she hovered above him and smacked the boy with her long hair.

"Don't let her tease you Mitch! Fight back!"

Ashley frowned. She hated that Him was hyping Mitch up. Was he just defending him because he was a boy? Or was he trying to get her to make some moves? She'll find out later.

"Aah!"

She shifted to see Mitch clutching onto her hair. The two of them make eye contact and he grinned wildly. She clenched her teeth and swiftly kicked him off of her, hitting his jaw. He backed up, blood dripping from his mouth.

He then moved his hands away, grinning at her like a madman.

Ashley backed up and started to think, her eyes remaining on the boy for a time.

All she needed was strategy and good timing. Sure she was a girl, but she was just as strong. She can handle beating him up after she pinned him. She just needed to think of how.

"Why are you just standing there Ashley?!"

She shifted out of her thoughts to really look at Mitch. His jaw was slightly detached, causing his mouth to stay open on one side. His eyes still looked like ones of crazed serial killers as the two looked at one another. Clara's blood from his clothes had dried from all of the movement but fresh blood dripped onto his top from his current injury.

He continued to smile as he asked. "Aren't you gonna fight me?"

Ashley floated there, staying absolutely silent and examined the boy's body. The most obvious place to go for was his jaw. It was detached, in the way, a nuisance for Mitch to endure and Ashley to look at.

"Answer me Ashley!"

_Maybe that'll actually shut him up_, she thought. _I'm tired of him thinking he can just mess with girls without punishment._

She glanced over at Clara's corpse before turning back to Mitch just as he was ready to charge towards her. She readied herself and moved out of the way before he had the chance to hit her. She kept dodging as he kept trying to make blow after blow.

"Stay still!" Mitch yelled. "Why won't you stay still?!"

After a while, he stopped and Ashley moved back into position. She realized she was hovering above where she was earlier. She looked down at the other girl's body again before letting out a sigh.

She really wanted to cry for Clara, she really did. The sight of her body was just so depressing, so disgusting that she wanted her tears to just fall. She wanted to scream and shout and do everything in her power to take down Him and Jo, even though there were risks to that. But she couldn't.

Honestly she was scared to.

But like Ashley had told Clara all those months ago, they had to adapt to their situation. No matter the task, they had to do it without the fret of the consequences. They had to do it because their parents told them to, nothing more.

She could focus on grieving later.

Meanwhile, Mitch was starting to look agitated. Ashley had been dodging his attacks this entire time! And he had only got a hold on her once and it was grabbing her hair! He wanted to kill her just like Clara. He wanted to get out of here and rid the dome from his memory. He wanted to get out of these clothes, get out of this battle arena.

He just wanted to be _clean_.

Ashley snapped her head back to Mitch and noticed he was milliseconds away from punching her cheek. She grabbed his wrist before he even had the chance to touch her.

"Let...go of me!" he exclaimed. "Let me go!"

Ashley's eyes darkened. "Are you sorry?"

"What?" he blinked in disbelief.

"Are you sorry for killing Clara? Do you feel bad about killing her?" she then quickly added. "Answer honestly or I'll know you're lying."

Mitch blinked once more before he started laughing. Usually, this sort of laugh would be reserved for happier times. Like when you got your favorite toy from the store or you just heard a funny joke. Not when your in a dark basement and you had to kill your two adopted siblings. It sounded out of place and unsettling.

It made Ashley feel uneasy.

"Answer the question!" she snapped, really just wanting the laughter to stop. "Answer the question right now!"

Mitch glanced at the dead body before looking at the redhead again. His grin never disappeared, only shrinking slightly. "Yeah, I feel bad about it. Clara was our friend, y'know?"

Ashley frowned, twisting his arm slightly. He out of a little yelp of pain as she said. "Wrong answer. You don't feel bad about it at all."

She continued to twist his arm, little by little. Mitch continued to flinch and squirm to the pain as Ashley continued to add more and more pressure and more and more force. The sounds of bones breaking and rubbing against each other was apparent to her but she didn't care. She kept talking.

"You don't feel the least bit sorry for Clara. You would do anything to survive. Anything to feel as though her death was by someone else. You didn't do it, you're innocent. I would never do that to our poor sister Clara, right?!"

She let go of his arm and noticed how limp it had gotten. If was as if the arm was crushed by a press, appearing flatter than the other one. The bones were a jumbled mess inside of his flesh and muscle, sinking towards the bottom like sand in a swimming pool. The sight of it made both kids sick to their stomachs.

"Remember what I had told Jaiden?" Ashley asked, eyes never leaving Mitch's own. "Before I was adopted? I am helpful, polite, and have a sense of justice. And I know that when Clara was taken down by you, I knew that I'm not only doing this because of survival. I'm doing it because I want to avenge Clara. I want justice for her."

Mitch held onto his arm and backed up, nervousness and fear setting in.

"And if I have to kill you for it, then it has to be done."

Ashley lunged forward towards Mitch and made swift punches and kicks in his direction. The pain stemming from his arm was making him slower with his movements, will allow her to get some good attacks in. A couple punches to the gut, a quick kick to the head and he was on the ground.

Mitch collapsed against the cold metallic floor. He was right in the center of the dome, the light shining down on him like a spotlight. Ashley landed close to him, her pink eyes angry and upset.

She really didn't want to do this. She knew this from the get go. But it had to be done. She had to kill Mitch. For Clara, for herself, for Him.

Ashley glanced at Him and realized he was still grinning ear to ear. He wanted her to win, she just knew it. She was starting to understand it now. All he wanted was to see what buttons he can push to upset her, anger her. It had been working this entire time.

"Ash…"

Her eyes bounced back to Mitch, who was looking worse for wear. Not only was his arm a mess of bones and flesh but his clothes was now soaked in fresh blood thanks to the wounds Mitch had on his covered chest as well as the crimson liquid that dripped from his head. He was dying.

"Ashley…?" he cried out, his voice soft and raspy as he coughed.

She continued to stare at him, clearly paying attention to him. Mitch spoke once more.

"I...I-I…" he sniffled, fresh tears falling down his cheeks.

He started to look less like the monster she was fighting and more like the Mitch she knew from the orphanage. Normal and sincere, even if he was bad to a lot of the other kids.

"I'm sorry..."

Ashley nodded.

"I'm sorry for everything…" he sobbed. "I-I'm sorry for picking on you a-and Clara a-and H-Holly. I-I'm sorry Clara. I-I wanted to go back to the orphanage too. I-I didn't mean to be mean, I-I just-" he was a bawling mess. "I-I wanna hug Holly and apologize! I-I wanna r-roughhouse with J-Jaiden again. I-I wanna…"

"I know Mitch." she cut him off as he continued to cry. "I want to go back to the way things were too. But there's no turning back."

Mitch sniffled and Ashley looked into those eyes. The eyes of a scared child who was at death's door and unsure as to how to get in. A child who was remorseful and guilt driven by all of the horrible choices he had made through the duration of his time on this earth. A child who wanted nothing more than to go back to the good old days. Where there was no needles, no training, and no killing. Back in the orphanage.

She had the same wishes. But she already knew that they won't come true.

"On your feet." Ashley instructed. Her voice then softened. "Please Mitch, fight for your life with me."

"I don't wanna fight anymore!" he wailed. "I wanna...I wanna go to bed! I wanna the pain to go away!"

"It will. Just do as I say."

Ashley hated herself for saying that. Killing him was technically taking him to bed and making the pain go away. It just wasn't the pain-free way to go about it.

Mitch nodded, wiping his tears away with his good hand and standing upright. He seemed slightly disoriented, his eyes not entirely focused on Ashley and his legs wobbling. He had lost a bit of blood.

"Fighting stance." Ashley instructed.

Mitch nodded, shoulders squared and feet apart. He was still a little wobbly but the way he was will do for now.

Ashley smiled a little at him. She really wanted to reassure him, to tell him that everything will be alright. Even though she was going to kill him, she wanted him to know that there was no hard feelings towards them.

He smiled back, though it looked forced due to all of the pain he was dealing with. She understood and made her moves.

She punched and kicked his body and head, causing him to fall onto the ground. Before Ashley could say anything, he got back up. She smiled again for a second before her determined face returned and she kept attacking. A kick to the stomach, a punch on the cheek, another kick to the jaw. He fell with each attack but stood back up.

Ashley was thankful for this. She wanted him to stay strong up until his death. Not beat him to a pulp like he did with Clara.

Once Mitch was on his feet again, her movements became faster. There was less breaks in between to check and see how the boy was holding up. She just kept attacking. She wanted to see how far she could take this one sided battle before he died. Wanted to see when it became too overwhelming for his body. What would be the finishing blow.

Ashley stopped her attacks when she heard Mitch's skull shatter after a kick to the face. He had cried out in pain but it was more like a whimper at this point. She backed up a bit and eyed the damage.

Mitch was still alive, clinging onto life by the string. He was breathing through his nose now, his mouth seeping out blood and causing him to cough and sputter. His jaw was loosely hanging onto his face by all of his flesh. His legs were bruised but mostly fine.

She knew he could still stand up.

"Just…" he gargled, spitting out blood and hacking. "Just kill me alrea-"

Ashley cut him off, kicking him in the skull again. Harder this time.

Mitch went limp immediately after that kick landed.

Ashley looked at his body, examining it for any sort of life. His chest didn't rise or fall, he didn't move. He didn't gasp for air through his nose. He was gone.

He had died.

"Well done Ashley! I knew you could do it!"

She turned to see Him smiling at her. He was clapping his hands ecstatically in an applause, as if she had won the school's talent show. She had killed the kid he was donning over and he didn't care one bit.

Him tapped his chin. "You know, as it stands now, I don't think Ashley is a fitting name for you anymore."

Ashley wasn't paying attention to Him. She was simply staring at her fallen siblings. They had died because Him told them to. They died because they were forced to either kill each other or stay in his dome to die. They had died...and she was the last one standing.

Originally, Ashley wanted to cry, to scream, to just get out of there and not kill a single person. But that was not the rules of the game. She wasn't allowed to leave if someone else was still alive. She had to kill to survive. And now that she did it, she didn't know how to feel.

She felt almost nothing.

_Almost_ nothing.

All she felt right now was hatred. Hatred for having to be pinned against Clara and Mitch. Hatred of having to see their lives get taken away and leave her all by herself. Hatred for the two men that had put them into this mess to begin with.

"Yes, Ashley is a dull name. A boring name." Him smirked. "You seem to rise to the occasion whenever we tell you to do something. You also seem to be a flower just blooming with knowledge and maturity." he snapped his fingers and pointed. "That's it. You're Blossom now! And this, is your new training uniform!"

Ashley turned to look at the other side of the dome. Right beside Him's smiling face was a sweatsuit that looked exactly like the one she was wearing now. The only exceptions being that it was pink and came with matching sneakers. And if she blinked, she could envision herself wearing it.

And it was stained with blood.

"So…" Him snapped Ashley from her thoughts. "What do you think Blossom? Do you like your new name? Your new uniform?"

She said nothing, glancing back the corpses before staring at Him.

She had read from a book that death signifies change. Whether good or bad, things won't ever be the same ever again. Four people had died in the span of several months. As the seasons change, her life had shifted as well. From being a booksmart child to being a superhuman created for destruction. Of who was yet to be determined.

Ashley stared at her uniform again before looking at Him once more. She didn't smile, nothing about this made her happy. She was just thinking about what the next phase in her life had in store for her. She was curious as to what comes next.

After a while, _Blossom_ nodded. "I like it."


	17. Blossom

When Blossom was called back into the basement, it had looked different.

The dreaded dome had disappeared, as if it had seeped into the floor. Wooden boards covered the entire surface, as if the large glass item had never existed. Also in the space was a large desk pushed up against the far wall with a large chalkboard next to it. Book shelves lined the wall parallel to the stairs, filled with pieces of literature and unnamed chemicals. One of them was labeled though.

"'Chemical X.'" she had read that with ease, even though it was placed high above her head. She turned to see Jo hard at work at his desk and slowly approached him. "You...called me Mr. Jo."

Jo turned in his chair to look at her and grinned. "Blossom...how are you?"

He's even calling her this new nickname.

Blossom shrugged.

It was just yesterday when Clara and Mitch died. She thought she would be more sad about their deaths. But after it actually happened, she felt hollow. Empty, no feelings whatsoever. All she wanted to do now was feel _something_.

But it was hard and she couldn't.

She was numb.

"Fine." she answered simply.

"Good good." the man turned to the chalkboard beside him and gestured to it for the girl to focus on it. "Now, I have a very important mission for you to do in a couple of days."

He got up and pushed the board out for her to see it better. On it was a plethora of different newspaper clippings. Each one was separated into different sections of the board, some of the areas had more than one article based around it.

"Now, I stayed up all night collecting all the various threats to Townsville and put them here. The one I want you to focus on is this gentleman."

Jo pointed to a picture of a burly man with a large nose, freckles and bushy red hair. He looked seemingly irritated as he was getting his mugshot taken. A couple pictures had him holding a large hunting rifle and looking threatening.

"Flynn "Fuzzy" Lumpkins. Arrested on several murder charges but keeps escaping jail. He's been shooting anyone that steps foot on his property, that includes kids like you."

"You want me to kill him?" Blossom asked.

"Try to persuade him." Jo answered. "But if that doesn't work, kill him. Tell the police you handled the situation and leave the station. Simple as that."

"And if the police want me for questioning?"

"Don't."

She nodded.

"Originally, I was thinking about waiting until I had assembled your team before you start doing missions but...you seem perfectly capable of doing this one solo."

Blossom raised an eyebrow. "Team?"

Jo nodded.

Her brow furrowed. "If you wanted a team so badly, then what was the point of killing Clara and Mitch? They could've-"

"No no no…" He shook his head. "They don't mesh well with you. Not to mention that Mitch will hog the spotlight because he's a boy. You know how the media is."

Blossom blinked. He did bring up a..._decent_ point.

"Plus, Clara was _way_ too weak. I watched the fight back and Mitch shouldn't have been able to kill her so easily."

"But we all trained together!" she reasoned.

"Just because you three trained together doesn't mean you all put in your best effort. You did, the others didn't."

Blossom lowered her head and nodded. There was no point in arguing with him. What's done is done and there was no turning back.

"Is there anything else?" she asked.

Jo nodded. "While you're out, Him and I will be bringing in more kids. I want you to come in through the back, in case it's still bright outside.

"Do you want me to do it in my training uniform?"

"No, that's for training only. Though…" he tapped his chin. "This is a test to see if you can handle missions so…" he suddenly snapped his fingers. "Remember that dress you wore when you first got here?"

She nodded.

"Wear that. Lumpkins will never see it coming!" he snickered a little, turning to face his desk. "You can go now."

Blossom nodded once, turning on her heels and headed towards the stairs.

~I~I~

Blossom stared at herself in the mirror.

Jo had told her to wear her Adoption Day dress to her mission and she agreed. Once she had gotten upstairs, she turned on her bedroom lights and threw the outfit on, being careful not to drop the rest of her clothes she had on hangers.

Her white dress decorated with little pink roses. Lace graced the end of the outfit as well as the puffy sleeves. She had a big red ribbon wrapped around her midsection and a bow on her head. She stared at her reflection and realized that she was nothing like the girl who had wore this very dress months ago.

The obvious differences were her hair and eyes, them being brighter and abnormal. The other things that changed weren't physical but mental. She had seen three kids die. She had killed a fourth with her own strength. All of that ruins the mind, especially for a child like herself. But as she stared at herself, she could no longer see an innocent little girl.

All she saw was her shell.

A shell of her former self. Like a caterpillar shedding skin. She was gone. _Ashley_ was gone. And she was replaced with what was left of her.

And that was Blossom.


	18. The Last Six

The next Adoption Day came faster than anyone thought it would.

Holly had woken up that morning and enjoyed breakfast like any other day. The new caregiver - Miss Keane - had made a light meal so that they didn't feel too full before helping them all get ready.

Her treatment with them had been more gentle, like a real mother would with their children. She could brush their hair, slip them into their outfits, adjust anything that looked off, all with graceful movement and praises. This was way better than Ima on Adoption Day.

Speaking of her, Mr. Morbucks told her to run Adoption Day while he was out. He also told Princess to watch over the orphans and make sure they didn't do anything reckless. Not that they would.

And so, the day started. The six remaining kids stood in a spaced out line from the entrance to the office, like usual. Princess and Miss Keane then made their way downstairs and looked at them. The redhead eyed each one of the orphans up and down while the woman grinned.

"You all look so good." she then added, walking to the kitchen. "Call for me when you kids want a break, okay?"

They all nodded.

Keane then stopped at the entryway and smiled. She then turned to Princess with a firm look. "Don't try anything Princess. Your father wants you on your best behavior."

"Tell me something I don't know…" she muttered, glaring at the floor.

"What was that?"

"Okay~!" she chimed, batting her eyelashes.

Miss Keane nodded before walking into the kitchen, out of sight.

Princess rolled her eyes before looking at Holly. The blonde stepped back a little, trying to make herself look smaller. She held Octi close to her chest as the redhead approached her. The rich girl eyed the orphan up and down like all of the other kids before asking.

"Why do you always carry that raggedy thing around?"

Holly didn't answer, squeezing her toy tighter. She shook where she stood and squeezed her eyes tight, doing her best not to cry.

Princess started to look even more annoyed. "I asked you a question…"

"Can't you see she doesn't wanna talk to you?!" Jaiden barked. "Get out of her face!"

"Stay out of this Jaiden! No one's talking to you!"

"She's right though." Robin stated, gesturing to Holly. The blonde had tears in her eyes. "You're scaring her!"

Holly was scared of Princess. After Ashley left, the rich girl would always pick on her. Taking Octi from her, pulling her hair at meals when no one was looking, throwing her clothes in mud puddles. Princess was the worst to her and even though Miss Keane and Robin did their best to stop her, she just kept doing it. Her father gave her no repercussions. No punishments. It upset Holly greatly.

Why couldn't Princess just get in trouble already?

Princess scoffed. "Oh please, I'm not scary. I just asked her a question."

"Didn't we tell you to leave her alone?!" Jaiden yelled, fire appearing in her jade eyes. "If you wanna mess with anyone, it's me!"

"I'm just telling her that that stupid piece of junk she's carrying around doesn't match her outfit. And it can be fixed if you hand the thing ov-"

"No…"

Princess blinked before growling. "What?"

Holly squeaked in fright but then realized that she couldn't just shy away from her forever. She took a deep breath and stood tall. She then said firmly. "I said no."

"Oh? And why not?"

"Because Octi's my friend a-and you're very mean to me." the blonde was started to stutter as Princess' angry eyes looked more like a glare. "I...I would like it if you would...stop picking on me. A-and maybe we can become friends…"

Jaiden shook her head and muttered. "Unbelievable…"

Princess suddenly started to look sympathetic. It kind took Holly aback for a second. "You know what Holly? You're right. I haven't been the nicest to you. At all. I'm so so sorry and I hope you can forgive me…"

The blonde blinked, feeling as though she was on a crossroad. She could forgive Princess and they could be the best of friends or not and she'll probably hate her forever. The possibility of the redhead lying and manipulating her could also be something that she would do. She had pretended to be nice before but ended up having evil intentions. But what if she was being genuine?

There was so many things that could happen that it was making her head hurt.

"I'll...think about it." Holly mumbled.

Princess' expression didn't change. She just nodded and walked away. The rest of the kids watched her go before looking at Holly.

"Do...do you think she's gonna pull anymore tricks?" A boy with curly blonde hair and thick glasses - Elmer - asked.

The twins beside him, wearing matching buttoned down shirts and slacks - Floyd and Lloyd - shrugged in unison.

"Probably…" Jaiden huffed. "I mean, this _is_ Princess we're talking about."

"Hello children~!"

The six kids turned to the door to see a tall man with sunglasses, a pink tank top, black leggings and flip flops. He placed the glasses above his head and his green eyes sparkled happily towards the children. He was all too familiar to them.

It was the same man that took Ashley and the others.

The only difference about his appearance now and when he was there months before was that the shorter man he was with wasn't present today. Holly wondered where he was.

"Hello." Robin smiled with the other kids waving.

"Are you six the only ones left? There was a lot more of you when I was last here."

"They all got adopted sir." Holly stated with a nod.

The man beamed. "That's good, that's good. Now," he bent down so that he was about the six year old's heights. "How would you all like to get adopted today?"

All of the kids' eyes lit up. "Really?"

He nodded. "Of course. I don't see why not."

The kids whooped and hollered as he headed down the hallway towards Mr. Morbucks' office. While they waited, the kids started talking happily to one another, happy that they were all going to the same house and excited to see their friends that they thought they would never see again.

As the others conversed, Holly suddenly felt a pit form in her stomach. She was happy that they were going to be adopted and glad that she was going to see Ashley and the others again. But at the same time, she felt like this was wrong.

That something about that man wasn't right.

She ignored this feeling as all the kids headed upstairs to pack their bags.


	19. First Mission

Blossom strolled through the woods alone.

She knew exactly where to go and what she was supposed to do. This mission was the easy kind, facing off with someone one-on-one. Sure he was an adult male but she was a superpowered child, she was at the biggest advantage here. She had this in the bag.

So why was she so nervous?

She had killed before, Mitch being the cruel example of that. This was supposed to be easier than that. She had no emotional connection with this man, the two were complete strangers. So because of that, this should be more simple.

Then why was she so _nervous_?!

She stopped where she was and looked up at the tree in front of her. It looked sturdy, as if it had been in this very forest for centuries. It reached up into the sky, allowing little sunlight to seep through to the ground. She placed her hand on the bark of the plant and felt its rough surface.

She could see her palm shaking.

"_Y'know Blossom, I changed my mind."_

Blossom was taken back to this morning when Jo had talked to her during breakfast. She remembered the golden omelette that was on her plate and the smell of the coffee that Jo was drinking. She had looked up into his calculating black eyes.

"_What do you mean?"_ she had asked.

"_About Mr. Lumpkins. You know when I said I want you to persuade him to come with you to the station?"_ he had asked.

She nodded once.

"_Forget it."_ he had said it as if he was changing his mind about a meal he wanted at a restaurant. "_Just kill him."_

She nodded again, only once.

"_Thank you."_

He then headed out with Mr. Him and she was left with her omelette. She had decided not to eat it and just left the house to complete her mission.

She gritted her teeth and stared at the tree. Now wasn't the time for her to be scared, it was time to do what she was brought into this world to do. She was born to take down criminals and that was exactly what she was going to do.

Even if it killed her.

Blossom stepped away from the tree and walked around it. She had to find Lumpkins' house eventually. She had to see where he lived so she can figure out the best way to take him down. As she walked, she started to think of how things were for him.

More than likely, he lived alone. No one would build their house in the woods unless they wanted solitude. He would have no neighbors to speak of and the only people that would come around would be hikers and lost kids from the nearby park. Those individuals would more than likely be shot dead.

But that wasn't going to happen to her.

After a bit of walking, she had stepped on a twig. She let out a gasp, jumping into the air and covering her mouth with her hands. She peered around the tree she was next to and spotted a house.

It appeared old and rundown, as if it had been built ages ago and never fixed. The little porch out front had some wood missing from the floor and the rail. And on that porch was the man she was instructed to kill.

He was a little more lean than the pictures of him in the newspaper clippings showed even though they were newer articles. His red curls were all over the place, but his black eyes stood out around them, eyeing the world. The only thing he was wearing was overalls and old boots, no shirt to speak of. His freckles were everywhere, covering every exposed area of his body like tiny sprinkles.

His eyes had stared in her direction for a split second and she turned before he could even see her. She held her breath as he yelled.

"Who's out there?! Whoever y'all are, ya better come out of hidin'!"

Blossom gently placed her feet on the ground and composed herself. She had to act like everything was fine. Pretend that she was a lost kid, looking for her parents. She had to play the part, put him in a false sense of security.

She breathed in and out softly before letting out childish sobs and cries. She made herself hidden behind the tree and just cried.

He sounded confused. "Who's that?"

"I'm lost Mister…!" she cried. "I can't find m-my Mommy or my D-Daddy a-anywhere and...I'm scared!"

Lumpkins was almost sympathetic. Almost. "Well, where y'all comin' from? Ah need ta see ya ta help ya!"

"I-I don't know…" she sniffled. "M-my parents told me n-never to talk to strangers…"

"That may be true lil' lady but y'all talkin' to me now. So can Ah at least see ya?"

"O-ok...c-come here."

He let out a short chuckle. "Oh no no no, y'all have to come to me if ya want me to find yer folks!"

Blossom thought things over in her head. Either go towards this man and possibly get killed by a gunshot wound or persuade him to come over to make killing him so much easier. She breathed through her nose and asked one more time.

"P-please come over here...my Mommy and Daddy don't want me inside other people's houses…"

"Nonsense. Y'all can just say y'all were playing with my lil nephews. They're real nice and friendly, they'll love ta be yer friend~!"

Blossom could taste the sick sweetness of his voice from the trees. It was saccharine. It made her want to throw up.

She then took another deep breath. She had a choice to make. Either deal with this joker sweet-talking her or come out. But if she did show herself, she'll get shot at and probably die. Then she would be nothing more than a number on the death counter.

"P-prove it." she sniffled.

Lumpkins said nothing for a second, his breathing hitched. She smirked, glad that she caught him in a lie. He then let out a laugh before saying. "T-they're sleepin' right now. Why don't y'all come inside for somethin' ta eat. Ya like meatloaf?"

"I'm not hungry…could you just come over here and take me to my parents now?"

"Let me see yer face and Ah'll help y'all out."

Blossom huffed. She knew she was going to get nowhere with this. She had to risk her life to kill this guy. It was either that or simple back and forth for hours on end.

Slowly, she stepped out of hiding. First her foot, then the rest of her. Eventually, she was exposed and walked towards the house.

Lumpkins looked genuinely happy at first to see her. But as she stepped closer and closer to his house, his smile morphed into a sneer. Immediately afterwards, he grabbed a shotgun from the rocking chair on the patio and fired directly at her.

She flew into the air before it could hit her.

Lumpkins' eyes widened. "What the-"

Blossom tsked. "You have awful aim...you know that Mr. Lumpkins?"

His eye twitched. "Why Ah oughta…"

He then shot rapidly into the air in every direction she happened to swerve and fly to. None of them hit her, she was just too fast for his gun. Eventually, he ran out of ammo and gritted his teeth in irritation.

"I guess it's my turn." she stated and he looked up at her.

Just then, she shot two beams of light directly at his feet.

He screamed in pain and ran into the house with Blossom close behind.

The interior was spacious and mostly empty, with dull green walls and a busted old television pushed up against the wall. Photos hung on the wall of his family and a discarded banjo laid on the floor.

Blossom eyed the entire living room area until she saw Fuzzy pop out from the kitchen and he started firing again. She dodged each bullet with ease before he ran out of bullets again and went to go fetch more.

This was going nowhere.

"Get outta mah house!" he yelled, firing at her so fast, it was almost a blur. "Get off mah property!"

Blossom continued to dodge but she felt the graze of the bullets on her legs. She looked at herself as she moved and realized that the heat from the bullet had burned through her stockings and left a mark on her ankles. She gritted her teeth and shot her laser eye beams directly at the gun.

Lumpkins yelped in pain, dropping his weapon as it continued to be affected by the beams until it exploded to pieces. Both individuals shielded their eyes from the burning metal and once it had ended, Blossom landed on the ground.

"Any last words Lumpkins?"

Fuzzy stared at his weapon before looking at the girl, shock apparent on his features. He then let out a wicked laugh.

"Ah ain't goin' down without a fight! So bring it on girly, without those eye beams of yers!"

Blossom's eyes narrowed. "I may be a person of reason but based around all the lives you've already taken…"

She shot her laser eyes directly at his left arm, burning it clean off to the joint. His bone and muscle were exposed as he let out a blood curdling scream. As what was left of his arm gushed out crimson, she finished her statement.

"...I'm not holding back for scum like you."

Lumpkins clenched his teeth, holding onto his bloody limb and glaring at Blossom. "You lil bitch. Y'all know what the hell Ah'm do to ya once Ah-"

He was cut off when Blossom aimed her laser eyes directly at his chest. Straight through him like a knife through butter. His breath hitched as he fell to the ground, blood coming out from his severed limb and mouth as he coughed out.

"G-god damnit…"

"Any more fighting words Fuzzy?" Blossom asked, approaching him. "Anything else you wanna say before I kill you?"

Lumpkins spat blood in her direction, nearly soaking her dress. "Go to hell ya lil' devil."

"You too Fuzzy."

Blossom shot the man again, making sure to sever his heart. His anger expression twisted into one of intense pain as she did this. She kept going, tearing his body to shreds until he was nothing but burnt, bloody body parts.

She hovered above him, scanning his body for any signs of life. With his body ripped to pieces and burnt to a crisp, there was no way he could've survived that. She then stared into his lifeless eyes and noticed that that entire face had that shocked expression still there.

She sighed, turning on her heel towards the door and closing it behind her.

Mission complete.


	20. Questions and Concerns

When Blossom came home, she could hear other kids.

She shut the back door slowly. Once it was completely closed, she walked through the kitchen and peered from the entrance to the room. She wanted to see who was here and if she recognized them.

Sadly, she did.

She swiftly turned back around and gulped. She could already tell that this was going to be another emotional rollercoaster. And not just for herself. For them as well. She thought about them being unable to handle the chemical like Joey and Susie. Or dead in battle like Mitch and Clara.

She breathed in and out through her nose before looking at her clothes. She had to focus on something else.

Her outfit had not been ruined that badly during the fight with Fuzzy. The only thing that was damaged was her stockings, which she had folded inward as to not distract the police at the station.

Ah yes, the police. They didn't look that convinced when she told them that Lumpkins was dead in his home in the forest. They had asked questions about it but she said nothing else and ran out of there. She was sure there was going to be a report about the case later on tonight.

"It's kinda quiet in here…" that was Jaiden.

"Where is everybody?" Holly. "I wanna say hi!"

"They're out." Jo stated. "They'll be back in a little while."

"Why don't you kids get settled in?" Him asked. "All the doors with names on them are taken."

Loud footsteps and laughter could be heard as the kids headed upstairs. The small glimpse that Blossom got of them confirmed that there were six of them, one more than the first batch.

Four or five were going to die, she had a feeling.

Footsteps approached the kitchen and Ashley looked up to see Jo and Him staring down at her, the latter holding a bag of Wendy's.

He grinned. "You deserve a cheat day for all your hard work~!"

"I eat fattening foods all the time. This is no different." Blossom stated, taking the bag and opening it up to get a fry.

"It's not everyday you get to eat a bag of grease." Jo stated. "You'll go back to normal meals tomorrow."

"What about tonight?"

"Pizza~!" Him chimed. "The new kids wanted to celebrate getting adopted and they wanted pizza."

Blossom nodded once before taking her food. "I'm...thinking about turning in early tonight."

"How come?"

"Let her go." Jo stated. "She had a rough day."

She flew upstairs before any other words were uttered. She shut her room door and stayed there for the rest of the day.

~I~I~

Holly felt like something was wrong.

Sure, she had been adopted with Robin and everything should've felt right. But it wasn't. For starters, no one but the eight of them (two being the adults) were even seen by the other kids. None of their other adopted siblings had even shown their faces yet. Another thing was that only one door had a name label when they came in. And it wasn't even of a kid they knew.

Who was Blossom? What happened to Ashley? Mitch? Joey, Clara, and Susie?

So many things were running through her mind that she didn't even touch her pizza. Robin, who sat to the right of Holly, noticed this immediately. She touched the blonde's hand and held it tight.

"You alright Holly?"

The blonde nodded. She was completely okay, it was just the situation wasn't.

"You sure?" Elmer - who sat on the other side of her - asked. "You haven't even touched your pizza."

"I'm okay, really." Holly gave them a small smile. "It's just-"

"Where is everyone?!" Jaiden butted in. "Where's Mitch? Ashley?"

"Yeah!" Floyd and Lloyd agreed in unison.

"You'll see them soon enough." Him stated, patting each of their heads and giving them another slice of pizza. "Now eat~! And relax~! This is supposed to be a celebration~!"

Holly nodded slowly, eating her food and staring down at her plate.

Something about this entire setup wasn't right. Five kids don't just disappear like that and yet, they were gone. What was worse was that neither Mr. Jo or Mr. Him were telling them anything. Just telling them to relax, that they were here even though there was no sign of them.

Everything about this didn't feel right…

But she continued to eat and stayed relatively silent. The party had started conversations with one another. The talk of exploring the house came up between Jaiden and the twins, causing Holly's eyes to light up.

Maybe that would help them find the others!

Him chuckled. "Alright. But save that for tomorrow. It's getting late and I want you kids to be rested up."

They nodded and continued with dinner until they were satisfied. They then headed to their respective rooms and soon drifted off to sleep.


	21. Breaking News

The news had been swarmed with some of the usual topics the following day. Things like burglary, gang violence and police chasing criminals down the highway at midnight. Usual topics.

Murder was also pretty normal in the town but what made it unusual was the circumstances.

Professor Utonium was at the table, looking through the newspaper. On the front page was an article detailing the murder of Fuzzy Lumpkins. He knew about the guy in previous newspapers and he was known for being rather hostile. It seemed odd that anyone would get close enough to lay a finger on him.

But what was weirder was that the police described a pink-eyed little girl who told them about the death. There was a sketch of her on the next page and to him, it was the cutest little thing he had ever seen. The girl looked no older than the kindergartener who used to live next door to him.

How did she know about the murder? Was she related to Fuzzy? By the description, it didn't seem like the case. Maybe she was adopted by him?

Utonium continued to read and frowned when it had stated that the girl disappeared and no one had seen her since. However, there was a two thousand dollar reward to bring her back to the station for questioning.

He sat the paper down and felt a pit form into his stomach. Why? Whoever killed Fuzzy got a criminal off the street! He should be just a little bit happy, even if there are other criminals out there. Why was he suddenly feeling so uneasy?

He sipped his coffee and stared at the newspaper.

Suddenly, a knock was heard from his door. He raised an eyebrow and rose from his seat before striding to the entrance. He opened it up and was greeted to a plump faced woman with a kind smile.

"Good morning." she greeted. "I'm Margaret Keane. I just moved in next door."

He nodded, peering to the left side of his house to see movers bringing furniture in. He smiled at her and shook her hand.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Professor Utonium." he then added. "Welcome to Townsville!"

"Oh, I have been in the area for a while now. Townsville isn't new to me. I just needed...a change of scenery from my old home. That and...I'm no longer allowed to live there anymore."

"Where do you work if you don't mind me asking?"

"Townsville orphanage. The only one in the city. We ran out of kids over there so my boss fired all of the workers."

Utonium let out a sigh. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's quite alright."

"Where do you work now?"

"I'm the librarian's assistant. At the Townsville library. The salary isn't much compared to my old job but it pays the bills."

They nodded before shifting into silence. After a while, she asked.

"Did you see the news? Crazy right?"

"Yeah, the state of Lumpkins' body was...horrendous. They said that he looked like he had been cut to pieces with a thin beacon of light."

"And there was so much ammunition on the ground." Keane added, hand to her cheek. "He used two boxes of bullets. About what, one hundred bullets?"

The professor nodded. "I wonder who he was trying to shoot…?"

"Whoever had trespassed."

Utonium scratched his chin. The more he thought about it, the more it didn't make sense. It didn't make sense from the get-go but he was starting to dive into it more thanks to Keane.

He kind of missed doing this kind of thing with Jo. He'll need to go see him sometime soon.

"According to what was stated in the article, the shell casings of the bullets were cracked." he stated. "It was as if they had fallen from a good distance in the air. But that would mean the person who murdered him was huge…"

"They were also all over the place." Keane let out a chuckle. "It was as if the killer could fly!"

Utonium's eyes were as wide as saucers.

"What next, you're gonna tell me that beacon of light was someone's-"

"Laser eyes." he finished, still in a state of shock.

She nodded, her smile disappearing as a look of concern replaced it. "Uh...are you okay Profess-"

"I apologize Miss Keane but I have to go." he said rather quickly. "It was very nice to meet you and...it was very nice chatting but I-"

"Oh...uh okay." she smiled sheepishly before waving. "I-I hope we can talk again soon..."

He nodded once before shutting the door.

He knew he should've checked on the chemical when Jo left. He had a feeling the timing of him leaving and getting into a relationship was all off. He just had to be so naive, thinking that his friend wouldn't do this. His friend wouldn't betray him like this. They had made the chemical together. Surely he didn't just take it all for himself.

Utonium could feel hot tears stinging his eyes as he rushed down the stairs. So many emotions were running through him after every step. Betrayed, anger, fear, sadness. So many different ways to feel.

He made it to the basement and grabbed the beaker. From afar, it looked exactly the same as the chemical. But taking a closer look at it, he saw that it looked more watery that how it was supposed to be. He put a sample of it under the microscope and confirmed it to be just juice and dye.

Now, he was starting to see the connections. Lumpkin's cause of death, the pink eyed girl, bullets pointed towards the sky.

Jo had the chemical and he had been using it on children.


End file.
